Holders Liverpool will take on Newcastle United at Wembley in the League Cup final on Sunday. The Merseyside club will be seeking a first trophy under manager Arne Slot while Eddie Howe’s side are trying to win their first domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup, and their first silverware of any kind since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

Liverpool want to retain the trophy they won last year - under Jurgen Klopp - while Eddie Howe's side are out to end a 70-year trophy drought and take the trophy back to the north east. The Reds needed extra-time to win competition last season, with Virgil van Dijk scoring the all important goal in the 118th-minute to break Chelsea hearts.

It is not that the EFL Cup does not matter for Liverpool, or even that the outcome of the final cannot change the tone of their season. It is simply that its importance to the Premier League champions in waiting is nothing to Newcastle United,