The Premier League Panel: Newcastle has 'cup fever'

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Our expert panel considers the impact of Liverpool's Champions League defeat to PSG and Newcastle's injuries to work out how Sunday's League Cup final might pan out.

Transcript

00:00We've mostly talked about the tactical implications of injuries, Teague and so on in recent matches,

00:10but Curtis, it's been 70 years now since Newcastle last won some silverware and it's been a pretty

00:16massive albatross around the club's neck for such a long time. Do you think the pressure

00:20and perhaps the expectation maybe, I suppose you could say, from the fans will have a positive

00:25psychological impact? Do you think it will spur them on or do you think it's a problem?

00:28You look back a couple of years ago to the League Cup final against Manchester United.

00:33Was that something which you thought held the team back or helped them?

00:36Yeah, it's a very, very tough one. I'm hoping this time it will be a positive influence

00:42rather than a negative one. I mean, they're on a run now of five consecutive cup finals

00:47that they've lost, dating back to 1955, they've not scored in four of them. So it's a long,

00:55long time since they've even produced a good performance in a cup final. But one thing

01:00I would say about this run in comparison to the last time is it's all been a bit more

01:05controlled, not so much the matches in between the cup games, but the two semifinals against

01:11Arsenal, there wasn't that kind of dancing around from the players. There was more of

01:15a relaxed feel, make sure they kept in the final. So hopefully they can harness the energy

01:22and use it to their advantage. But it's a tough one. It's a tough one to call.

01:26Yeah, I mean, I'm living in Newcastle now and it feels like all anyone's talking about. I've

01:32seen people putting up posters, I've seen people wearing hats just wandering around their business,

01:37black and white hats and stuff. It's gone a little bit cup final mad. So you do hope it doesn't

01:42have too much of an impact, I suppose, in some way or a negative sense for the team's sake. But

01:47I mean, if we're going to look at the psychological side of this, Will, from Liverpool's perspective,

01:51under Arnaslott, we haven't really had to see what they do when they need to bounce back from

01:55a defeat. So do you think that's going to be an issue for them? It's obviously the first real

01:59disappointment. I know there was a defeat to Plymouth in the FA Cup, but this is the first

02:03really big disappointment they've endured under the current manager. How do you think he'll handle

02:08it? I think he'll handle it like he has done all season, very measured. He's not someone that gets

02:14too worked up. He's very pragmatic and very prudent when it comes to his approach.

02:21As you say, Liverpool have not lost a lot of games this season, but they bounced back after

02:26losing to Tottenham in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup. They bounced back quickly after

02:33they lost to Nottingham Forest in the league. That was their only loss of the Premier League so far.

02:39So if you look at that, Liverpool have not lost back-to-back games. I haven't got the stats in

02:44front of me, but I'd be surprised how many times they've not won after they've lost, or how many

02:53games they've dropped points in successively this season. They've got real resolve about them,

02:59and I think that's what Bannerslot really does. He's a good communicator. He knows where the

03:04team's going wrong, and he can get his message across. That's what the players like. As you say,

03:09there's a bit of time now to work with the players. That's one thing the reforces,

03:13is a little bit of time on the training ground with a couple of injuries to try and get things right.

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