The Carabao Cup gives new Coach Ryan Mason the opportunity to clinch a long-awaited trophy for Tottenham Hotspur, 13 years after he played and beat Chelsea in the 2008 EFL Final – their last title!
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In a week that saw the footballing world turned upside down with 12 clubs joining and then dropping out of the European Super League, it was an even more eventful week for Tottenham Hotspur, with the sacking of Jose Mourinho a few days ahead of what could have been his first title with the club since his joining. The new man in charge, Ryan Mason though, has given fans what they wanted already with a win on his league managerial debut and will be hoping to repeat the feat on Sunday when the Spurs take on Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
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City are currently Premier League leaders while Tottenham are currently 6th chasing a top 4 spot after what’s been a difficult campaign. Manchester City have won 4 of the last 5 Carabao (League) Cups and are appearing in their 4th straight Carabao Cup Final and their 9th in total. Should City win, they’ll equal Liverpool’s record of eight Carabao Cup wins and four consecutive wins, while Pep Guardiola would also become the first coach to win the cup in four consecutive years. City beat Arsenal 4-1 in the QF and Manchester United away at Old Trafford 2-0 in the Semi-Final on their way to the Final and will face a resilient Spurs side that are hungry to finally add to their trophy cabinet for the first time since 2008.
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Tottenham meanwhile have won 4 League Cups from 9 Finals appearances, the last of them in 2008 being the last trophy they’ve won. Spurs’ faced an embarrassing Europa League exit at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb which also saw the exit of Joe Mourinho leaving ex-central midfielder Ryan Mason, at just 29 years, ten months and eight days, in charge, as the youngest manager in the current big leagues, and the youngest in Premier League history. Spurs had a third-round bye vs Leyton Orient and then faced Championship oppositions (Stoke City 3-1 & Brentford 2-0) in the QF and Semi, so things will be a lot tougher in the final against league leaders Man City.
KEY PLAYERS
PHIL FODEN
In what’s been an incredible season for the young Englishman, Phil Foden could be a key man in the Final of the Carabao Cup. He was the Man of the Match in last season’s final and the man in form has ave an assist for the first goal in the Carabao Cup final last year 2 goals and has provided 2 assists in the Carabao Cup. Foden recently scored winners in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final against Dortmund and has 13 goals and 9 assists in all competitions this season.
HEUNG-MIN SON
The South Korean star scored the winner in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Brentford (Spurs won 2-0) to take the Spurs into the final and he also scored against City in November when the 2 sides went head-to-head in the Premier League. Son has 20 goals and 16 assists this season has scored 2 goals in the last 3 games in the league. It’s a huge game for him and partner Harry Kane who have combined brilliantly for Spurs and would love nothing more than to clinch their first trophy together on Sunday.
Manchester City have not lost a Carabao Cup game since October 2016 and Spurs will need to dig deep and not put a foot wrong if they are to
[Image Credit: Carabao Cup]
Suhail Chandhok
Vertical Head - Sports