FeatureThe road to Wembley - how Liverpool and Newcastle set up Carabao Cup final

Liverpool

Arne Slot’s side have navigated all-Premier League opposition in their defence of the trophy.

Round three pitted the Reds against West Ham United at Anfield, and they emulated the quarter-final clash of the previous campaign with a 5-1 victory.

A hugely unfortunate Jarell Quansah own goal actually put the visitors ahead on 21 minutes but Diogo Jota swiftly equalised with a close-range header from Federico Chiesa’s assist.

Liverpool then moved through the gears after the break as Jota sent them in front and substitute Mohamed Salah increased the advantage with a quarter of an hour to go.

Cody Gakpo found the net twice in quick succession during the closing stages – after Edson Alvarez was dismissed for the Hammers – to give the scoreline an emphatic look.

• Carabao Cup final: Go to LFCTV GO for exclusive pre-match build-up, live audio commentary of the game and the full match replay

The Reds’ reward was a late-October trip to the south coast for a tricky-looking contest versus Brighton & Hove Albion.

Gakpo was at it again at Amex Stadium, this time opening the scoring with a thunderous finish from the left-hand side a minute into the second half.

The Dutchman doubled his team’s lead soon after the hour mark and though Brighton hit back twice through Simon Adingra and Tariq Lamptey, those efforts came either side of a Luis Diaz goal to ensure Liverpool advanced.

The holders were subsequently returned back to the bottom of the country having been paired with Southampton in the quarter-finals.

Slot again shuffled his options and once more found the right solution, as Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott each scored during the opening 45 minutes.

Cameron Archer halved Saints’ deficit on the cusp of the hour mark but the Reds saw out their narrow lead to march on to the last four.

Tottenham Hotspur now stood in the way of a third League Cup final appearance in four seasons for the Reds.

And Ange Postecoglou’s side established a lead in the first of two legs, Lucas Bergvall’s 86th-minute finish at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium leaving the tie finely balanced.

Liverpool were unstoppable in the return fixture four weeks later, however, and Gakpo had wiped out Spurs’ advantage by the half-time interval.

Slot’s men took command henceforth, Salah’s penalty early in the second period supplemented by goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk to allow fans’ thoughts to turn to Wembley again.

Newcastle

The Magpies’ journey to the final included one game more than Liverpool’s, as they entered the competition at the second-round stage in August.

A tough task it was too, with Eddie Howe’s team visiting Nottingham Forest for a match that ended 1-1 after Jota Silva cancelled out Joe Willock’s first-minute goal for the away side.

Newcastle prevailed 4-3 in the penalty shootout to set up a meeting with AFC Wimbledon, who were seen off 1-0 at St. James’ Park thanks to a Fabian Schar penalty on the stroke of half-time.

It was the first of three home ties in a row as fellow Premier League club Chelsea travelled north to Tyneside in round four.

A four-minute first-half spell settled the encounter in the hosts’ favour, Alexander Isak’s opener quickly followed by an Axel Disasi own goal to secure a 2-0 victory.

Brentford were the next to try to stop Howe’s charges but festive cheer came from the Toon Army courtesy of a 3-1 result a week before Christmas.

Sandro Tonali struck twice before the interval to put Newcastle in charge and their advantage was later enhanced by Schar, leaving Yoane Wissa’s stoppage-time goal as little consolation for the Bees.

North was pitted against south on the other side of the semi-final draw too, with the Magpies paired against Arsenal and sent to Emirates Stadium for leg one.

There, they took a big step towards Wembley with unanswered strikes either side of half-time, Isak again breaking the deadlock and Anthony Gordon adding a second.

And there was a similar story in the return at St. James’, with Jacob Murphy increasing the aggregate lead to three in the 19th minute and Gordon once more sealing a 2-0 win.