Overview
The reigning Carabao Cup champions Newcastle will host Tottenham Hotspur at home in round 4. Under Eddie Howe, Newcastle have had impressive results in this tournament, however, the 4th round is often a "breakthrough" for many recent champions.
In fact, three of the four most recent Carabao Cup champions have been eliminated in this round. The only exception was Liverpool last season - who reached the final but eventually lost to Newcastle. It was also the "Magpies" that eliminated Manchester United in the fourth round of the 2023-2024 season, thereby somewhat washing away their regret after the defeat in the previous final.
The two previous champions - Liverpool and Manchester City - were both defeated in the fourth round on penalties. Will history repeat itself for Newcastle?
If that happens, it will be a rare turning point in the recent history of the confrontation between the two teams. none of the last eight meetings have ended in a draw. The last time the two sides shared points was 2-2 at St James, Park in 2021. It took fans more than a decade to see a draw between Newcastle and Spurs.
In the Carabao Cup, the two teams have only met once in the past decade - a not-so-happy memory for Newcastle. In the encounter in 2014, Tottenham won 4-0 at White Hart Lane, with Nabil Bentaleb, Nacer Chadli, Harry Kane and Roberto soldado scoring in turn.
Newcastle's form at the moment shows that the match will be significantly more balanced. They have scored 13 goals and conceded only 5 in their last 6 matches in all competitions.
Tottenham, on the other hand, are facing a serious personnel crisis. The "Roosters" currently have 9 injured players, the highest number in the Premier League. Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke are all sidelined, giving Thomas Frank a headache rotating the squad.
Despite leading Brentford to the Carabao Cup semi-finals in 2021, Frank has yet to make a big mark in the cup competitions. Now, the pressure on him is even greater when leading a team with much higher ambitions.
Tottenham have passed the fourth round in the last four seasons, since a 2-3 defeat to West Ham in 2017-2018. However, Newcastle are in impressive form in the Carabao Cup. They have won 7 consecutive matches, a feat only Liverpool in 1995 had surpassed (with a series of 11 wins).
Eddie Howe still has some losses in defence. Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento are definitely absent, while Sven Botman is uncertain to play after a head injury against Fulham. However, Eddie Howe has confirmed that the Dutch midfielder did not have a concussion, so he can still return.
Meanwhile, Yoane Wissa continues to be absent and has yet to make his Newcastle debut against his former club Brentford.
The good news for the home team at St James' Park is that they still have the service of Joelinton. The Brazilian midfielder has been directly involved in nine goals in 18 Carabao Cup games (6 goals, 3 assists) and has scored more goals against Tottenham than any other opponent (4 goals). He is expected to be the key to opening the victory for Newcastle in a dramatic promising match.
Head-to-head record
The recent head-to-head record is in favor of Newcastle, after a long period of dominance by Tottenham Hotspur.
The "Magpies" have won 5 of the last 6 meetings between the two teams in all competitions (losing 1). This number is especially impressive compared to the previous period, when Newcastle only won 4 and drew 2 in 16 matches against Spurs.
In the most recent encounter in north London, Newcastle continued to show their mettle with a 2-1 victory. Despite falling behind, Eddie Howe's side have come back from behind thanks to goals from Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak.
Score prediction: Newcastle 1-0 Tottenham
The match between Newcastle and Tottenham takes place at 3:00 am on October 30 (Vietnam time).
