Carabao Cup final 2023: Newcastle United and Manchester United journey to final

The Magpies and The Red Devils are hungry to get their hands on the trophy.

The Carabao Cup final will take place this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. GMT and 10 p.m. IST between Manchester United and Newcastle United. However the two clubs' routes to the competition's final have been in stark contradiction.

United, which has been in turmoil ever since Sir Alex Ferguson left, saw numerous managers take charge of the club. Though very few could lead them to trophies.

United could only win the FA Cup under Louis van Gaal. While Jose Mourinho won the League Cup, Europa League, and Community Shield; and David Moyes won the Community Shield.

And there has been a dry spell of trophies for six years. The club did come close to winning the 2020–21 Europa League but lost to Villarreal, continuing their quest for a trophy.

Then came Erick Ten Hag, who changed the fortunes of this historical club. But his reign began with back-to-back defeats, which showed the club will never find a manager like Alex Ferguson.

However, those two defeats changed everything for United, and what Ten Hag has done has restored trust and process at the club. He has employed his rules and demands, and if any player tries to break those rules, he will face the consequences regardless of his status at the club.

And this is what made United a club with a winning mentality that embarked on an impressive run, and now they find themselves in the Carabao Cup final and could also challenge for the title if they remain consistent with their form.

The former Dutch manager has changed everything at United that the other manager couldn't bring, and now Ten Hag will oversee his first final as Manchester United manager on Sunday.

Newcastle United reach EFL Cup final after 47 years

Many had never thought Newcastle would be United's opponents in the Carabao Cup. The club was battling relegation last year, and when a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media, and PCP Capital Partners bought the club for £305 million, it made the Magpies one of the richest clubs in Europe.

They appointed Eddie Howe, who saved the club from relegation, as Newcastle became the only team in Premier League history to survive relegation despite losing all 14 of their games under Howe, who led the club to an 11th-place finish after a run of 12 victories in their final 18 games.

This season, they are contending to finish in the top four. A massive transformation has certainly been seen under new owners and managers.

But there was an era of discontent under owner Mike Ashley. Newcastle's supporters were criticised back then for having unrealistic expectations for a team that hadn't won a trophy in nearly 54 years.

They did not want the Champions League to arrive in Tyneside and a parade of championship wins. They merely wanted a team with such great potential, a single-team city, and a magnificent stadium close to the centre of that city to be provided with an opportunity to compete on the field.

But the arrival of new owners and managers has turned the club into a competitive one that can take on any Premier League giant.

And now Howie has the opportunity to enter Newcastle mythology by becoming the city's first manager to claim a trophy since Joe Harvey.