Liverpool given huge Carabao Cup final boost as Newcastle star earns reckless red card | OneFootball

Newcastle United forward Anthony Gordon is expected to be suspended for the upcoming Carabao Cup final against Liverpool after collecting a straight red card in his side's FA Cup tie against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

With the score locked at 1-1 heading into the final ten minutes of this all-Premier League fifth-round clash, the energetic forward tangled with Seagulls centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke. The referee's whistle had already been blown to flag Alexander Isak offside, but Gordon could not contain his frustration, planting his left palm on the side of the defender's head and shoving him to the turf.

Referee Anthony Taylor showed Gordon a straight red card which was not questioned by VAR. If, as expected, the official's match report confirms that Newcastle's hot-headed forward was dismissed for serious foul play, he will earn a three-game ban which extends across all domestic competitions.

Newcastle travel to West Ham United's London Stadium in the Premier League on Monday 10 March before an eagerly-anticipated trip to Wembley the following Sunday (16 March).

The Magpies have not won a major trophy since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The club's most recent domestic title was the 1955 FA Cup.

Eddie Howe's side are all too familiar with the difficulty of going to Wembley without a full-strength squad. When Newcastle went up against Manchester United in the 2023 Carabao Cup final, they were robbed of first-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope after he collected a red card against Liverpool in the club's final league fixture before the showpiece event.

Backup Martin Dubravka was also unavailable having oddly appeared for United in an earlier round of the competition, leaving the much-maligned Loris Karius to take up position between the posts. The derided German shot-stopper, the villain of Liverpool's Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in 2018, had not made a single senior start in two years before rocking up at Wembley. Newcastle were beaten 2-0.

Gordon's likely replacement will not be so ring-rusty. Harvey Barnes is the natural replacement on Newcastle's left flank, starting together with his compatriot in this weekend's cup tie against Brighton. Nevertheless, Gordon's influence will surely be missed and the Merseyside-born forward from a family of Liverpool fans will undoubtedly be devastated to sit out such an occasion against the Reds.