Man Utd vs Newcastle: Marcus Rashford and Loris Karius stats assessed ahead of Carabao Cup final | Football News

Newcastle take on Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final this Sunday in front of the Sky cameras – but what do the stats say ahead of the blockbuster showdown?

The Magpies will be aiming to win their first major domestic trophy in nearly 68 years but their opponents are clear favourites to win – having claimed 40 major trophies since Newcastle’s last major domestic silverware: the FA Cup in 1955.

When comparing the two club’s achievements over the years, it’s easy to see why there is an expectancy for the trophy to head to Old Trafford for a sixth time.

To make life more difficult for Newcastle, they will line up without their suspended first-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope, who has kept 10 clean sheets in his last 14 games and four shutouts in five Carabao Cup appearances for the club.

As a result, either Loris Karius will make his Newcastle debut – or Mark Gillespie will come in for just a fourth Newcastle appearance.

Much-maligned Karius is favourite to start but hasn’t made a senior appearance since February 2021 – while on loan at Union Berlin.

His last appearance for an English side was in Liverpool’s 3-1 Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid in May 2018, when his two errors notoriously contributed to his team’s downfall.

That disastrous performance spelled the end of his Liverpool career – but the stats show he deserves more respect.

In fact, he kept a clean sheet in 22 of his 49 Liverpool appearances, equating to 45 per cent – a ratio bettered only by Ray Clemence (48.6 per cent) in the club’s entire history.

Karius kept his first Premier League shutout against Manchester United back in October 2016, and, if he can repeat the trick on Sunday, then redemption may well be his.

Karius’ spill from Gareth Bale’s long-range shot in the Champions League final belies a more than respectable Premier League save percentage of shots from outside the area of 90 per cent. That is a figure only 10 goalkeepers have bettered over the past 10 years – so that error shouldn’t unduly concern Newcastle fans.

Those of Newcastle persuasion might instead point to Karius’ passing accuracy of 66.4 per cent, which is significantly better than that of the club’s usual custodian Pope, who averages just 42.8 per cent. After all, it was his distribution that helped Jurgen Klopp decide he was right for his Liverpool team in the first place.

Karius was playing like a sweeper at times for Mainz in the Bundesliga, which allowed them to squeeze their opposition and, in his time at Liverpool, he was best in the Premier League for interception situations outside of his area.

The German’s composure with the ball at his feet is something Eddie Howe might look to utilise, as he seeks to become the first English manager to win the League Cup since Steve McClaren with Middlesbrough in 2004.

Over in Manchester, Erik ten Hag will want to become the first Dutch manager to win the trophy and he will look to the in-form Marcus Rashford to fire his team to victory.

Rashford is full of confidence, having scored 16 goals in 17 appearances since the World Cup – a goal every 80 minutes.

He has no fears facing Newcastle either, with four goals in his last seven appearances against them, while he also scored twice past Karius the last time he came up against him back in March 2018.

Rashford’s League Cup record has been exceptionally strong over the past five years, with 12 goals and six assists in his last 15 appearances in the competition.

He averages a goal every 73 minutes and a goal involvement every 49 minutes in the competition during this period. Should he score on Sunday, he will become the outright top goalscorer in this season’s tournament – as he is currently tied on five goals with Southampton’s Che Adams.

A goal against Newcastle would be a first cup-final goal for Rashford after five finals without scoring and, should he score, it would surely go a long way to helping him secure his fourth major trophy at the club.