Liverpool face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final this weekend in what is a huge game for both sides.
This is Arne Slot’s first chance to win silverware as the manager of Liverpool, while Newcastle are looking to end a 70 year trophy draught at Wembley.
Newcastle and Liverpool have had some very tight encounters as of late, they drew 3-3 earlier this season, while late goals settled the score last season.
This cup final may come down to just one moment, as it did last year.
Liverpool are the current holders of the Carabao Cup as they beat Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley last year courtesy of a Virgil van Dijk header from a corner.
Van Dijk received a lot of praise after the game.
Speaking on Liverpool’s YouTube channel, Arne Slot has been previewing this game, and he made a claim about how important set-pieces could be here, namechecking Arsenal as a team who have shown the importance of set-pieces as of late.
Arne Slot makes Arsenal set-piece claim
Slot spoke about how important set-pieces are.
The Dutchman says that he knows how vital these situations are after last year’s final, while he also said that Arsenal’s brilliance from set plays has taught him a lot about how important it is to take advantage of those situations.
“That final again shows me the importance of set-pieces, that’s where Liverpool scored from and yesterday we had 13 set-pieces. We came so close to scoring and in the end we even hit the post,” Slot said.
“These are the margins of football, and we all know, especially after what Arsenal did in this league for the last one or two years the importance of set-pieces, and that final and that goal also tells us the importance of set-pieces.”
Liverpool and Newcastle set-piece records compared
As Slot says, set-pieces could well be the difference on Sunday.
It was a set-play that cost Liverpool points against Newcastle earlier this season as Fabian Schar scored late on from a dead ball situation.
Liverpool actually don’t have the best of records from set-pieces this season, conceding almost twice as many as they’ve scored.
| Liverpool set-piece record this season | |
|---|---|
| Set pieces scored | 4 |
| Set-piece goals conceded | 7 |
Liverpool will also be without their chief set-piece taker this weekend as Trent Alexander-Arnold is out with injury.
Luckily, Dominik Szoboszlai is a great set-piece taker, so he should be able to step up.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are more of a threat from set-pieces than Liverpool, but they also concede a fair few themselves.
| Newcastle set-piece record this season | |
|---|---|
| Set pieces scored | 7 |
| Set-piece goals conceded | 8 |
This weekend’s cup final will be an interesting clash, and, as Slot says, it may only take one moment to settle the game.
