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As Liverpool prepare to take on Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup 2024-25 final at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday, March 16, there has been speculation about the availability of their first-choice full-back Trent Alexander Arnold. The English defender seemed to be in discomfort after a challenge on him during his team’s match against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) in the midweek and was subbed off for Jarell Quansah in the 73d minute. It was later confirmed that he had an ankle injury and will miss Liverpool’s upcoming cup final against Newcastle United. Liverpool were recently knocked out of the UCL Round of 16 by PSG in a thrilling penalty shoot-out at the Anfield.
As Liverpool were favorites to progress further in the competition, the loss would have come as a big disappointment for team and fans alike. However they will look to make amends and win their first piece of silverware under new manager Arne Slot on Sunday night. The Reds recently faced off Newcastle in a league encounter at Anfield which ended 2-0 in Liverpool’s favour.
Big misses for Liverpool: Darren Lewis speaks out ahead of Carabao Cup final
While Liverpool are surely favourites to come off with a win in the cup final on Sunday, the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold will be a big blow to Arne Slot and the entire team. Darren Lewis mentioned in a pre-match show, how Trent’s absence will be a big miss for the Liverpool side. He said, “Everybody knows what he offers, His dead-ball abilities, his distribution in the midfield. There are so many facets to Trent Alexander Arnold’s game,” referring to the quality that the English full-back possess.
Trent will most likely be replaced by Quansah as his back-ups in the form of Conor Bradely and Joe Gomez are still recovering from injuries. Liverpool, who are the defending champions of the Carabao Cup, won last year’s final against Chelsea with a deep extra-time winner by captain Virjil Van Dijk. The victory sealed the last piece of silverware for Jurgen Klopp, who was set to leave the club and marked an excellent farewell for the German manager.
