Newcastle United take on Brentford in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night as both sides chase their first EFL Cup crowns.
The Magpies came close to lifting the trophy in 2022/23 when they reached the final, but defeat to Manchester United in the showpiece event meant Newcastle were in for a long wait for a major trophy.
Brentford have never reached the final of the competition, but made it to the semi-finals of the 2020/21 season before suffering defeat at London's Tottenham. The Bees have never won a major cup competition before.
Although Brentford have endured a difficult spell on their travels this season, they did beat Newcastle at home earlier in the month. Their 4-2 win will give them a boost of confidence heading into a raucous St James' Park on Wednesday.
Here 90 min a guide to Newcastle vs Brentford.
Newcastle vs Brentford H2H record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
Newcastle | Brentford |
|---|---|
Newcastle 4-0 Leicester - 14.12.24 | Chelsea 2-1 Brentford - 15.12.24 |
Brentford 4-2 Newcastle - 07.12.24 | Brentford 4-2 Newcastle - 07.12.24 |
Newcastle 3-3 Liverpool - 04.12.24 | Aston Villa 3-1 Brentford - 04.12.24 |
Crystal Palace 1-1 Newcastle - 30.11.24 | Brentford 4-1 Leicester - 30.11.24 |
Newcastle 0-2 West Ham - 25.11.24 | Everton 0-0 Brentford - 23.11.24 |
Country | TV channel / live stream |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | Sky Sports+ |
United States | Paramount+, fuboTV, CBS Sports Network |
Canada | DAZN Canada |
Nick Pope missed the weekend win over Leicester City after picking up a knee injury that will keep him out until mid-January. Martin Dubravka will replace the Englishman for the next month.
Jamaal Lascelles and Emil Krafth are still absent in defense with long-term problems, but Sven Botman is closing in on a return to the first team. He featured for Newcastle's under-21s on Monday and could return to the senior team at the end of December.
Callum Wilson's injury problems persist, with the striker out for the next two months with a new hamstring injury picked up a week ago. Joelinton was suspended at the weekend against Ipswich Town after picking up five Premier League yellow cards, but is available against Brentford.
Predicted line-up for Newcastle v Brentford (4-3-3): Dubravka; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Isaac, Gordon.
Brentford are without a number of long-term absentees, including Aaron Hickey, Ric Henry and Joshua Dasilva. Gustavo Nunes is still missing and his recovery from a back problem is taking longer than expected.
Mathias Jensen will be Brentford's big miss in the engine room. The midfielder suffered a hamstring injury at the end of November and is unlikely to return until the new year.
Thomas Frank is unlikely to make major changes to the side that put up a strong fight at Stamford Bridge in the Sunday's loss 2-1.
Brentford predicted line-up against Newcastle (5-3-2): Stain; Roerslev, Van den Berg, Pinnock, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Janelt, Norgaard, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Visa.
Newcastle have a generally impressive recent record against Brentford despite a defeat in early December and will rely on a cacophonous St James' Park crowd to help them overcome the tricky Bees on Wednesday.
Goals have been hard to come by for Newcastle this term, but they have scored nine in their last three meetings and Alexander Isak has hit some much-needed form in front of goal. Brentford have kept just one clean sheet in 16 league matches this season and will struggle to stifle the Magpies.
Brentford have plenty of attacking threats and will be confident of causing Newcastle problems themselves. However, they have the joint worst away record Premier League this term and he might not get the job done on the road again.
Forecast: Newcastle 2-1 Brentford
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