I have got Monday off work just in case… | OneFootball

Ahead of Liverpool v Newcastle in the Carabao Cup Final, we are looking to gauge the thoughts of Newcastle United fans ahead of that 4.30pm kick-off at Wembley on Sunday.

So we have asked a number of regular and irregular contributors to The Mag a range of questions.

How they think things are looking ahead of this massive match.

Whether or not they have a ticket for this Carabao Cup Final and what they expect to see happen when Newcastle United meet Liverpool.

Next up we have Mark Jankowski:

Ticketed or ticketless for Sunday?

I’ve got my ticket for Sunday. I fell into Pot 2 for this one as a midweek away game is virtually impossible for me to get to unless it’s in the school holidays.

There were definitely more people in this category this time around as I wasn’t able to get a ticket behind the goal so I’m at the front of the top deck.

What are your plans around the match this weekend?

Having grown up down south and also attending University in London, I’ve still got lost of friends who live dotted around the capital. I’m heading down early on Friday to get some socialising in before turning my attention to the match on Sunday.

The old favourite, would you rather win this Cup Final on Sunday or qualify for the Champions League via the Premier League (Obviously bearing in mind the PSR/money side of things as well)?

Winning the cup would definitely edge it but probably not by a great deal. I said 2 years ago I’d lean towards Champions League as I was confident we’d be back in another final. I still feel that way but Chelsea and Man City used the League Cup as a springboard to greater things, I’m hoping we can do the same.

Maybe a bit more difficult, would you rather win on Sunday but have no Champions League qualification these next five seasons, or lose on Sunday and have Champions League qualification guaranteed for each of the next five seasons. (Obviously bearing in mind the PSR/money side of things as well)?

When you phrase it like this it has to be lose on Sunday. I’m very confident we’ve got lots of finals ahead of us. We’ll stand a better chance of winning them if we’re able to attract the top players due to the benefits of being in the Champions League.

What would be your starting eleven in the Carabao Cup Final?

I would personally go with the same 11 that started against West Ham. Barnes and Livramento looked like they weren’t quite on the same wavelength on Monday, understandable given they haven’t played together a great deal, but I think that game time will be crucial for the pair on Sunday.

They were close to splitting a packed West Ham back line on multiple occasions in the first half, Liverpool will afford them more space and margin for error.

I’m definitely team Pope when it comes to our goalkeeper situation but I do have a feeling Howe may have promised Dubravka the cups, so wouldn’t be surprised to see him start.

What would have been your starting eleven if everybody had been available?

I’d have switched Gordon, Hall and Botman in for Barnes, Tino and Burn. Although I might have considered the same tactic we used against Arsenal at home, in which case I’d have dropped Murphy to accommodate Burn in the back line.

What chance do Newcastle United have of lifting the trophy (rating it between 0 and 10)?

I think you’d have to be pretty blinkered to think that Liverpool aren’t favourites for Sunday but I have seen plenty of people claiming we’ve only a puncher’s chance, or we’ll need a miracle.

As good as Liverpool have been this season I wouldn’t say they’re an all time great side and personally I’d almost go as far as saying they’re a one man team. Take Salah away from them and they’d be much easier to beat. That being said, they do remain favourites, so we’re a 4 out of 10 when it comes to our chances.

How important was the West Ham match to our chances in the final? Has defeating the Hammers gave us a better (or worse?!!) chance, compared to if NUFC had lost on Monday?

I saw a tweet highlighting our performances in games prior to a Wembley appearance and it made for pretty grim reading. I believe we won prior to 1976 but that may have been an FA Cup tie. Before that, our last win before a final was in the 1950s. It probably doesn’t mean too much but it can’t hurt carrying some momentum into the final for a change.

Similarly, what impact do you think it will have on Newcastle’s chances, what happened at Anfield on Tuesday night against PSG?

It’s hard to say but in my professional opinion (I’m a sports psychologist by trade) the fact that Liverpool have a large lead in the league probably protects them somewhat from a psychological perspective. In another season where Arsenal were closer to them, the pressure of crashing out of two competitions in a week could have been a severe psychological blow but, because they have that large lead in the league, they’ll be able to focus fully on the game on Sunday.

Who do you think are the three most important players on Sunday and in what order and why?

Tino Livramento – Liverpool are a one man team. Keep Salah out of the game and off the stat line (as excellent as Hall played against Salah he’s registered 2 goals and 2 assists against us) and I think we’ll win.

Alexander Isak – Virgil van Dijk has had his best season for years but he’s looked like he’s at sixes and sevens on multiple occasions when Isak has played against him. We’ll need to score to win (I don’t think Liverpool will lose 2 shootouts in a week) and Isak is our best chance of doing that.

Whoever we have in goal – At some point our keeper is going to have to make a big save, Liverpool have scored more than any other side in the Premier League this season. They’re going to get a clear chance during the game, our keeper need to stop it when they do.

Looking back at your time supporting Newcastle United, which are the times when you thought NUFC were potentially going to win something?

I was confident in 1998 but this was mainly the naivety of youth. Unfortunately, it cost me a £10 bet with my Arsenal supporting best mate, that was a week’s wages from my paper round back then. I was pretty confident 2 years ago too but unfortunately the occasion got to us. Hopefully we’ve learnt from that this time around.

Would this automatically be the highlight of your time supporting NUFC if they beat Liverpool on Sunday?

Unequivocally yes.

Anything special planned if/when we win this Cup Final?

Nothing specific. I don’t want to count my chickens but, I have got Monday off work just in case.

Do you think if Newcastle United win this trophy it will live up to what you ever hoped it feel like, or do you think maybe a bit of an anti-climax, as in…is that it?

Aside from Newcastle United I am a huge NFL fan and my team in the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams, won the Superbowl a few years ago now. I was absolutely buzzing when that happened (the second time I’d seen them win) but my connection with the Rams doesn’t match that with Newcastle (I have family from the West Coast so it’s more than just picking a random team) so I can only imagine how high I’d be if we actually won.

How would you describe how you feel ahead of this match – excited, terrified, can’t wait, dreading it…?

I’m certainly less excited than the final against Man U from a couple of years ago. Liverpool are a better team than Man U were, so I’ve got lower expectations. I definitely think we can win this game but I recognise we’re not favourites and given recent losses to the squad our odds have gotten longer. I’d probably characterise myself as cautiously optimistic.

Do you think Eddie Howe and his team have got enough recognition for even getting to the final, considering the fact that in this cup run Newcastle have defeated current top four sides Chelsea, Forest and Arsenal (twice!) just to get to Wembley?

Absolutely not.

Our run to the final last time was certainly a favourable one, which at the time we dismissed because we were happy to be there. This time round we have well and truly earned our spot in the final. Should we win we will have beaten the entire top 4 to secure glory.

In your optimistic moments do you think back to our first game in the competition this season, behind in the penalty shootout at Forest, then think maybe this was all meant to be…?

It was a game that should have been out of sight looking back at it so yeah there probably will be an element of this feeling if we manage to win on Sunday. It could have been all very different.