The 2025 Carabao Cup final is set after Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night to set up a final against Newcastle United.
Newcastle booked their spot in the final on Tuesday as they beat Arsenal 2-0 at St. James’ Park to secure a 4-0 aggregate win over Mikel Arteta’s side.
Liverpool won 4-0 at Anfield after Tottenham secured a 1-0 first-leg win in north London last month.
Here, The Athletic breaks down all you need to know about the Carabao Cup final and its impact on the Premier League.
When is the Carabao Cup final?
The 2025 Carabao Cup final will take place on Sunday, March, 16 at Wembley Stadium. Kick-off for the first major final in the English 2024-25 season is yet to be announced but is traditionally around mid-afternoon — last year’s final was at 3pm GMT (10am ET, 7am PT).
How will the final affect Premier League fixtures?
The Carabao Cup final coincides with the 29th round of matches in the Premier League. Finalists Newcastle and Liverpool will not play in the league that weekend and instead have their fixtures rescheduled.
A date for Newcastle’s rescheduled home match against Crystal Palace is yet to be confirmed but as they are not competing in Europe, it should be easier for the league to find a day to play this fixture.
Liverpool’s away game against Aston Villa will take place on Wednesday, February 19 at 7.30pm GMT and will still be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK.
Gordon scored in both legs against Arsenal to power Newcastle to the final (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
How will the final affect Fantasy Premier League?
The rescheduled fixtures give FPL managers a lot to think about.
Liverpool will blank in Gameweek 29, leading to a double gameweek for both finalists and the league opponents they were due to play.
For Liverpool, the double-header will occur in a fortnight’s time during Gameweek 25 while the date of Newcastle’s rescheduled game is still unknown – but it is unlikely to be on that same gameweek as the Premier League confirmed the potential rescheduling of the other fixtures last Friday, before the semi-final second legs took place.
Liverpool and Aston Villa’s Gameweek 25 will see Slot’s side play Wolves (H) and Villa (A) while Emery’s team face Ipswich (H) and Liverpool (H).
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How could European qualification be impacted?
The winners of the Carabao Cup qualify for the preliminary play-off round of the Conference League, earning a spot in the league phase if they are victorious over two legs.
However, if a team wins the Carabao Cup and finishes the Premier League season inside the top five, the Conference League position goes to the next highest-placed team who have not yet qualified for European competition.
If the FA Cup winners, who qualify for the Europa League, finish inside the top five, then the Carabao Cup victors finishing in the top six would also trigger the situation above.
Last season, Liverpool won the Carabao Cup but qualified for the Champions League by finishing third, leaving the Conference League spot open. It went to sixth-placed Chelsea, with fifth-placed Tottenham and FA Cup winners Manchester United qualifying for the Europa League.
Liverpool are top of the table and look likely to participate in the Champions League next campaign for what would be the eighth time in nine seasons.
Newcastle are sixth in the league, two points off the top four and level on points with Manchester City in fifth, firmly in the mix for some form of European football next season.
(Carl Recine/Getty Images)
What are the League Cup records of the finalists?
Liverpool have a strong record in the competition. In the 65-year history of the tournament, they have reached the final on 14 previous occasions and won it a record 10 times. Arne Slot’s side are looking to be the first team to win the cup in consecutive years since Manchester City in 2021, the last of four victories in a row.
Newcastle have the opportunity to end an extended domestic trophy drought that stretches all the way back to 1955, when they won the FA Cup. They have never won the League Cup but have reached the final twice before, losing to City in 1976 and to Manchester United in 2023.
How to watch the Carabao Cup final
Fans in the UK can watch the match on ITV1 or Sky Sports Main Event/Football. U.S. viewers can keep up with the action on CBS or Paramount+.
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(Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
