Form guide: Manchester United vs Newcastle United (Carabao Cup Final)

Manchester United and Newcastle United contest for the first piece of domestic silverware on Sunday afternoon at Wembley Stadium.

Both sides see the Carabao Cup as the chance to end their respective trophy-less streaks.

A special night at Old Trafford fans won’t forget in a hurry which saw them comeback to knockout La Liga leaders FC Barcelona, Manchester United will be looking to replicate similar results against Newcastle United as they travel down to the capital to contend for their first trophy in over half a decade. 

As for Newcastle, they’ve had the week off, but in their recent outing against Liverpool, they lost 3-1 and also suffered another loss, as Nick Pope’s red card will see him miss the final on Sunday. 

The Magpies have been on substandard form since the World Cup’s return, but their new ownership structure’s lofted expectations have them levelling out at the worst possible time. 

Read More: How to watch Manchester United vs Newcastle United (Carabao Cup final)

Here is the form guide for both sides’: 

Manchester United — D, W, D, W, W 

Erik Ten Hag is still quite the way from restoring Manchester United at the pinnacle of the domestic and European game. Still, his tenure so far puts him in good stead — beating one of Europe’s most prestigious clubs in Barcelona and adding the first trophy available to his tenure within a few days would place much substance behind the job he’s doing. 

The Reds have gone through Aston Villa, Burnley, Charlton Athletic and Nottingham Forest to make it to their first final since the 21-22 Europa League final, a run that has been favourable but carried out superbly — only conceding once in their five matches — two in the third round against Villa. 

The 2-1 (4-3) victory over Barcelona still maintains United as the only side in English football to be in all four competitions that they are competing in. They have also moved on to the fifth round of the FA Cup, where they will face West Ham United next week, and pose a threat to make a late invite into the Premier League title race; United are currently on a nine-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and have been prevailing in both boxes — scoring at least twice in their last 10 games and keeping five clean sheets in the process.

Read More: Erik ten Hag explains his thought process behind the subs that helped Man United beat Barcelona

Newcastle United — W, W, D, D, L

Its been 16 months since Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund completed its takeover of Newcastle, and the drastic improvement of the club has been clear to see. 

At that time, Newcastle was in a relegation battle under the turgid management of Steve Bruce and was a club with little attention, direction or chance of winning a trophy, let alone getting to Wembley was the furthest it had ever been. 

Fast forward, and Eddie Howe has overseen one of modern history’s most significant transformations of a football club. Of course, the illustrious signings of Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope, Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon encapsulate the new Newcastle. 

Like United, they have had a favourable run in the cup so far, but unlike the Red Devils, it hasn’t been as prevailing. Tranmere Rovers, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Southampton have proved tricky opponents but not tough enough to stop Newcastle from booking a trip to Wembley for the first time in 24 years. 

Nonetheless, Howe’s side has struggled to regain the consistent form that placed them in the Champions League spots earlier in the season — winless in four and accumulating more draws (11) than wins (10), emphasising the lack of cutting edge within the side. 

The Magpies are on an eight-game losing streak at Wembley, with their last win coming in the 1955 FA Cup final. 

They will have to outdo history if they are to triumph on Sunday.