Champions Travel

2023 Carabao Cup Final Preview: The Road to Wembley

Whilst it has never had the prestige that some cup competitions in England and beyond hold, the Carabao Cup remains one of the major honours in English football and in 2023, there are two sides in desperate need of a trophy doing battle in the final – with Manchester United taking on Newcastle United at Wembley.

Recent colossuses of the English game such as Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola have both recognised the importance of the competition in terms of trophy collecting – with Guardiola’s Manchester City having won it 4 times in the last 5 years.

For Eddie Howe at Newcastle and Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, trophies or most notably the relative lack of them, are the things that have pained the fans of the respective clubs in recent times and reaching the final of the 2023 Carabao Cup has both fans dreaming of glory.

Will Manchester United be opening up the trophy cabinet?

Whilst a run back to 2017 is hardly a trophy drought for most clubs, for a team with the global stature of Manchester United it has been a tough few seasons. Managers have come and gone at Old Trafford and it has been a relative period of obscurity.

After an inauspicious start, Dutchman Erik ten Hag looks to be getting to grips with the task at hand – with the Red Devils on the cusp of the title race in the Premier League, into the last 16 of the FA Cup and progressing nicely in the Europa League too.

A global brand such as Manchester United however is always going to be judged on trophies and the Carabao Cup would be almost the perfect start to the Erik ten Hag era, as the club looks to force its way back into the Champions League too.

Manchester United’s route to the 2023 Carabao Cup Final

It cannot be disputed that for as good as Manchester United have been this season, they have certainly had the rub of the green when it comes to the domestic cup draw.

All United’s fixtures have been played at Old Trafford, with the exception of the two-legged encounter with Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals and Erik ten Hag has used the competition effectively, to blood new talent and to build confidence within his squad.

Round 3: 10^th November 2022 – Manchester United 4 – 2 Aston Villa
United found themselves behind twice in the second half thanks to a Diogo Dalot own goal and an Ollie Watkins strike but goals from Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay got the ball rolling for the reds in the Carabao Cup this season.

Round 4: 21^st December 2022 – Manchester United 2 – 0 Burnley
Following the World Cup in Qatar, United were made to work hard to overcome Championship high flyers Burnley. Goals in each half from Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford sealed a comfortable home win for the Red Devils.

Quarter Finals: 10^th January 2023 – Manchester United 3 – 0 Charlton Athletic
Next up for United were League One outfit Charlton Athletic, who frustrated the Red Devils for long periods. Antony opened the scoring in the first half before a late Marcus Rashford brace put the tie to bed.

Semi Finals: 25^th January & 1^st February 2023 – Manchester United 5 – 0 Nottingham Forest (Aggregate)
The two-legged semi-final with Nottingham Forest was all but over following the first leg at the City Ground in Nottingham, with United running out 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes. The Reds made it 5-0 on aggregate a week later, as Anthony Martial and Fred sealed a comprehensive two-legged win.

Decades of pain to come to an end at Newcastle?

For all the relative troubles Manchester United have had in recent years, they pale into insignificance compared to Newcastle. The Toon have never won the League Cup, they last won a major domestic trophy in 1955 and their last trophy of any note was the UEFA Intertoto Cup back in 2006.

Things look very different at St James’s Park currently though, with Eddie Howe currently overseeing a revolution of sorts on the North East. Backed by a Saudi Arabian investment group, Newcastle have been enjoying spending big in the transfer market and they look to be building a squad capable of competing in England and beyond.

The Magpies are also in the hunt for European football this season, having spent much of the campaign in the top 4 of the Premier League, with some big fixtured still to come. Optimism is high with Newcastle United fans, even after their defeat by Liverpool at the weekend which saw goalkeeper Nick Pope shown a red card for handball outside of his box meaning he will now miss the final on Sunday.

Newcastle United’s route to the 2023 Carabao Cup Final

For Newcastle, it has been all about outdoing Premier League opposition in their run to the Carabao Cup final in 2023 and they too have had to ride their luck at times.

In a similar vein to Manchester United, all Newcastle’s fixtures have been played at St James’s Park, with the exception of the two-legged encounter with Southampton in the semi-finals.

Round 3: 9^th November 2022 – Newcastle United 0 (3P) – 0 (2) Crystal Palace
It was an attritional start to the Carabao Cup campaign for Newcastle, who were made to dig deep to overcome Crystal Palace in the third round. Three missed penalties by Crystal Palace ultimately proved to be enough to see the Toon through to round four.

Round 4: 20^th December 2022 – Newcastle United 1 – 0 Bournemouth
Taking on former club Bournemouth, Eddie Howe managed to get a grip on the occasion and see his side into the last 8. A second half own goal from Adam Smith was all that Newcastle needed to book their place in the quarter finals.

Quarter Finals: 10^th January 2023 – Newcastle United 2 – 0 Leicester City
St James’s Park was rocking for the Carabao Cup quarter final between Newcastle United and Leicester City and Toon were completely dominant on the night. Goals from Dan Burn and Joelinton ensured Newcastle’s progress to the last 4.

Semi Finals: 24^th & 31^st January 2023 – Newcastle United 3 – 1 Southampton (Aggregate)
Both Newcastle and Southampton came into the semi-finals full of confidence, but it was the Magpies who managed to hold their nerve. Joelinton scored the only goal of the game on the South coast as Newcastle won the first leg 1-0 before a Sean Longstaff brace in the second leg put the Toon in full control of the tie. Che Adams set up a tense finish by netting a reply for Southampton, but Newcastle ultimately cruised into their first Carabao Cup final since 1976.

It promises to be a special occasion at Wembley on Sunday 26^th February, as both sides will be looking to etch their name into English football history and get their hands on the 2023 Carabao Cup.

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