There will be an EFL Cup party somewhere in the north of England on Sunday afternoon, as reigning champions Liverpool and challengers Newcastle United contest the 2024-25 final at Wembley Stadium.
The Reds are bidding to retain the honour they regained by dispatching Chelsea in the 2023-24 showpiece event, and victory would surely precede a domestic double as they sit 15 points clear atop the Premier League standings.
On the other side of the coin, the Magpies have not won a major trophy in almost exactly seven decades, but they laid down a real statement of intent with their fabulous 4-0 aggregate win over Arsenal in the semi-finals.
Ahead of what promises to be a fascinating showdown at Wembley, Sports Mole picks out some of the best pre-game statistics for the 2024-25 EFL Cup final.
Best Liverpool stats ahead of EFL Cup final
Liverpool are bidding to win the EFL Cup for the 11th time on Sunday; their current record of 10 is already at least two more than any other English club.The holders will also be playing in their 15th final in the competition, at least five more than any other team.The Reds have already won 18 combined EFL Cup and FA Cup trophies (10 in the former, eight in the latter) and could equal Manchester United's all-time English record of 19 (13 FA Cups, six EFL Cups).Liverpool have lost only two of their last 19 matches in the EFL Cup, a 3-2 defeat to Manchester City in the 2022-23 fourth-round and 1-0 reverse to Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of this season's semi-final.The reigning EFL Cup champions have defended their title the last four times they have reached the final, with Manchester United doing so in 2009-10 and Manchester City in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.Liverpool have reached the 2024-25 final after Arne Slot after making the 2023-24 showpiece under Jurgen Klopp - the last side to reach back-to-back finals under different head coaches was Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 (Juande Ramos) and 2009 (Harry Redknapp).Slot's side head to Wembley on the back of a 1-0 Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain, which ended a seven-game unbeaten and scoring run across all competitions.Slot has lost two of his previous three finals as a head coach, 1-0 defeats to Roma in the 2021-22 Conference League final and PSV Eindhoven in the 2023-24 Johan Cruyff Shield, with his only victory coming against NEC in the 2023-24 KNVB Beker final by the same scoreline.Cody Gakpo has scored five goals in the 2024-25 EFL Cup, more than any other player, and nine goals in 11 appearances since his tournament debut in September 2023 is also the most of any player.The Dutchman could become the first Liverpool player to score six goals in an EFL Cup campaign since Robbie Fowler in 2000-01, where his sixth goal came against Birmingham City in the final.Mohamed Salah has only scored one goal from 27 shots at Wembley for a conversion rate of 4%, his worst percentage at any ground where he has had at least 15 attempts for Liverpool.
Best Newcastle stats ahead of EFL Cup final
Newcastle are hoping to win the EFL Cup for the first time, having only finished as runners-up in 2022-23 (to Manchester United) and 1975-76 (to Manchester City).The Magpies could clinch their first major trophy in 70 years, last winning silverware in the 1954-55 FA Cup, although they did prevail in the 1968-69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.Newcastle have lost five domestic cup finals since 1955, three FA Cup and two in the EFL Cup. Only Chelsea (six) have ever had a longer run of successive defeats, losing three FA Cup and three EFL Cup finals since 2019.Since winning their first five games at Wembley between 1924 and 1955 - all of which were FA Cup finals - Newcastle have lost their last nine matches at the ground, the worst run of any team at that particular stadium.Newcastle have won all six of their EFL Cup games this season and have not lost a match in the tournament in 90 minutes since the 2022-23 final.Eddie Howe has won 12 of his 16 EFL Cup games in charge of Newcastle, the best win ratio of any Magpies manager to oversee more than one match in the competition (75%).Howe could equal Kevin Keegan's club record of 13 EFL Cup match victories as a manager, which his predecessor achieved in 21 games.Howe is looking to become the first English manager to win a major trophy with a Premier League club since Redknapp's Portsmouth became FA Cup champions in 2008. The last English manager to win the EFL Cup was Steve McClaren with Middlesbrough in 2004.Newcastle beat West Ham United 1-0 in their most recent Premier League game; they had conceded at least twice in each of their five matches prior to that slender win.
Best Liverpool-Newcastle head-to-head stats before EFL Cup final
Liverpool and Newcastle will clash for the 190th time in all competitions on Sunday; the Reds have won 94 of their previous 189 meetings, while the Magpies have 50 victories to their name.Liverpool and Newcastle's only previous appearance in a domestic cup final came in the 1973-74 FA Cup final, a tie won 3-0 by the Reds.The two clubs will be meeting for just the third time in the EFL Cup; the Magpies won 1-0 in a 1995-96 fourth-round clash, before Liverpool won 2-0 in the 1997-98 quarter-finals.Sunday's match will mark the 20th different fixture to be played in both the FA Cup and EFL Cup finals.Newcastle have failed to win any of their last 17 games against Liverpool in all competitions since a 2-0 victory in December 2015. Only against Man United (19 games from 2002 to 2011) have they endured a longer winless run against a particular opponent.Liverpool have scored at least two goals in each of their last six games against Newcastle since a 1-0 Premier League win away from home in April 2022.Mohamed Salah has had a direct hand in 18 goals in just 16 matches against Newcastle for Liverpool across all competitions, 10 of his own and eight assists. Only against Man United (22) and Manchester City (21) has he been involved in more for the Merseyside giants.Salah's 10 goals makes him the second-highest documented goalscorer in matches between Newcastle and Liverpool, only behind Michael Owen's 14.
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