‘Newcastle vs Liverpool Carabao Cup final sparks postponement chaos’
Newcastle United reaching the Carabao Cup final to face Liverpool has caused fixture havoc elsewhere, according to a report from the Daily Mail.
Eddie Howe has recently been backed by the club’s hierarchy to be the manager to make the Magpies a regular trophy-winning force in English football.
He will look to get his first piece of major silverware as the club’s manager under his belt on Sunday (16 March) when they take on Premier League leaders Liverpool in that final at Wembley.
But with that game set to go ahead, it means that many other matches in the North East will not be happening over the course of the weekend.
Newcastle United backing leads to significant abandonments
Player absences could play a major part in the cup final, with Newcastle missing the suspended Anthony Gordon.
Sven Botman and Lewis Hall will also be unavailable for manager Eddie Howe after being ruled out due to injury.
| Newcastle last five games | Result |
| Man City (A) | Lost 4-0 |
| Nottingham Forest (H) | Won 4-3 |
| Liverpool (A) | Lost 2-0 |
| Brighton (H) | Lost 2-1 |
| West Ham (A) | Won 1-0 |
Now though, the interest this match is generating in Newcastle means that so many other players will be unavailable that many other games will not be going ahead at all.
As per the Daily Mail, non-league and junior football fixture lists have been “decimated” by the final, with hundreds of matches being postponed.
Matches on the day of the game have been postponed in order to allow players to watch the final, unlike when the Magpies faced Man United in the final of the same competition in 2023.
Meanwhile, the Northern Alliance have apparently also postponed their round of fixtures scheduled for Saturday (15 March) due to the number of players who are travelling to London ahead of the game.
Eddie Howe will hope fans can help his side over the line
Football Insider Verdict
It does feel like postponing these matches is very much the right thing to do over the course of the weekend.
With Liverpool coming off the back of their Champions League heartbreak against PSG, they have had a lot taken out of them in the past week or so.
As a result, there will be some belief for Newcastle that they can take advantage of that to finally end their long wait for silverware.
As a result, it would not be fair to force players to miss a game that could turn out to have such significance for the region.
Indeed, having such a sizeable and vocal support to lift Howe‘s side over the line could yet prove vital in such an important and tense encounter.
With that in mind, the decision to postpone these games is something everyone connected with Newcastle may end up being grateful for.