Rio: Form is key for Carabao Cup final
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes form is a huge factor heading into Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium.
The Reds come into the game in London off the back of a terrific run, having lost just one match in 18 since the return of club football after the 2022 Qatar World Cup. It’s a streak galvanised by our 2-1 Europa League victory over Barcelona on Thursday, a result that knocked La Liga’s runaway leaders out of the competition.
Today's opponents Newcastle have put up an impressive campaign so far however, highlighted by their run to Sunday's final and their push for a spot in next season’s Champions League. Eddie Howe’s side have two draws and a defeat in their last three, though, a factor Ferdinand believes could impact who lifts the silverware.
Rio's Carabao Cup final preview
Exclusive interview | Sam Homewood sits down with Rio Ferdinand to get his take on the Carabao Cup final...
“Everybody always says form goes out the window, but listen, there will be times in the game where it will come to mind,” Rio told club media at Wembley.
“If you’re in a rocky patch in a game and you’re lacking form going into that, and you’ve been on a losing streak or things haven’t gone well, there could be flashbacks. It could go into your mind. It’s about mental strength and being able to put that to one side. Can they do it? We’re going into it in form, Newcastle are out of form.
“[Regular goalkeeper Nick] Pope [is] not playing, I think there’s a lot of things that are going in our favour,” continued Rio. “What I’d be stressing [over] if I was in the dressing room right now would be, what this could be. This could catapult us confidence-wise into a place we’ve not been in a very long time. And what that would mean for the end of the season, the run in, getting into the Champions League, could we challenge for the title?”
“I think for those guys it’s going to be massive,” he said. “Knowing how to win in a Man United shirt. You can win where you want; Casemiro, [Raphael] Varane have won major trophies multiple times, but they haven’t felt winning in this stadium and at Manchester United, in a red shirt. So, they’ll be pining for that. And all of the other young guys that have been in the squad that haven’t won yet.
“Like me when I came here, the first thing I was thinking was I needed to win to be able to look people in the eye. I’m sure there will be a few of them like that, do you know what I mean? Walking around this stadium, getting the hump. I’m sure a lot of these guys will have the hump that the fans always talk about the past. Different eras, before. They want to be spoken about now. They’ve got egos, they’ve got pride and they’ll make it right [by winning].”
Ferdinand picked Rashford and Casemiro as the key to victory, two players who have stood up in difficult battles throughout the season. Expectation around Rashford has shifted; he is now in his best season ever, having netted 23 goals and numerous winners already. Rio believes such form breeds major responsibility for the 25-year-old.
“It’ll be interesting to see because in the times gone by before he wasn’t the guy everyone looked to, to win the game for us,” he said.
“It was other people more experienced, whereas now he’s much more experienced and in an unbelievable vein of form, so the pressure is going to be on him to score. But he looks like at the moment he loves that pressure, he revels in that, and hopefully he steps up again.
"I think there’s not a game in recent weeks, the last few months, that he doesn’t go into being our number one reason to have a chance of winning the game.”
Similarly, Casemiro’s presence after a three-match domestic suspension could be vital to combating an excellent Newcastle midfield, believe our former no.5.
“He’s been our most important player,” said Rio.
“I think him and Marcus Rashford for different reasons. He seems to be the glue in this team. I would put a lot of the positives and the form and the consistency in this team down to his presence in the team. Not solely, but he has a huge impact on this team.”