During Saturday afternoon’s game between Newcastle and Liverpool, Nick Pope was sent for an early bath after handling the ball outside the box. The red card means he will be suspended for Sunday’s League Cup final against Manchester United.
Newcastle’s second choice goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka, was brought on as a replacement, but Slovak will be unavailable for Wembley due to being cup-tied. Dubravka spent four months on loan at United this season and featured twice for us in the League Cup.
This means that Newcastle may well be relying on their third choice goalkeeper for the final, who is none other than former Liverpool man Loris Karius. He signed for Newcastle at the beginning of this season after being released by Liverpool. The goalkeeper had not featured for Liverpool since his infamous display in the 2018 Champions League final, where his horror show saw Real Madrid win 3-1.
Karius hasn’t played a competitive game of club football since February 2021 when on loan with Union Berlin.
Casemiro has been suspended for the last three domestic games but will return for the final against Newcastle next Sunday, after featuring in our 2-2 away draw with Barcelona earlier this week.
While Newcastle’s goalkeeping issues doesn’t confirm the trophy is won, it certainly is advantage United ahead of kick-off.
