Newcastle United could be forced to play former Liverpool star Loris Karius in goal against Manchester United for the League Cup final amid Nick Pope’s red card this weekend in the Premier League.
The England international was shown a straight red in the Magpies’ 2-0 loss against Liverpool, ruling Pope out of next weekend’s League Cup final against United. And with backup keeper Martin Dubravka cup-tied thanks to the Red Devils, Karius could now make his Newcastle debut.
Karius set for sensational League Cup final start
Karius has not played a professional game since late 2021 with Union Berlin, and the German’s last moments for Liverpool are some of the most infamous in recent footballing memory, with the keeper suffering a concussion in the 2018 UEFA Champions League final against Real Madrid, leading to two calamitous errors.
With Erik Ten Hag signing Dubravka on loan before the deal was cut short by Newcastle, the Dutchman’s decision to bring the Slovakian international in now looks like a stroke of genius despite how incredible the odds were this precise situation would even happen.
Indeed, Newcastle’s hope of a first piece of silverware this century will now be hanging by a thread with arguably their best player this season in Pope being ruled out of the League Cup final against United. And for Karius, the German could now have picked a worse fixture to make his return to English football.
Manchester United now have chance of winning first trophy since 2017
Whether it’s genius or luck, United’s hopes of ending their six-year trophy draught now look bigger than ever with Pope now out of next week’s huge cup clash at Wembley, with Newcastle now hopeful that Karius will be able to put on a show despite the immense stakes.
Moreover, with the likes of Marcus Rashford in incredible form, it could be a long afternoon for Karius if the Newcastle defence act in the manner they have been playing at in recent weeks, another factor that could give Ten Hag his first trophy for United.