Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe aiming to break 19-year duck in EFL Cup final

Newcastle eliminated four Premier League sides on their road to Sunday's final, and they will need to beat a fifth top-flight side if they are to win the League Cup for the first time in their history.

The Magpies' only previous League Cup final appearance took place in 1976 when they lost 3-1 to Manchester City.

Howe will be hoping he can be the man to guide Newcastle to their first major trophy since beating Hungarian outfit Ujpest in the Fairs Cup final in 1969.

The Newcastle boss is also aiming to become the first English coach to win the EFL Cup since Steve McClaren won the trophy with Middlesbrough in the 2003-04 season.

Two goals inside seven minutes helped McClaren's Boro side secure a 2-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Incidentally, McClaren will be in the opposing dugout on Sunday, carrying out his duties as a member of Erik ten Hag's backroom staff.

Since 2004, the five English managers who have lost an EFL Cup final have been Paul Jewell (Wigan in 2005-06), Harry Redknapp (Tottenham Hotspur in 2008-09), Phil Parkinson (Bradford in 2012-13), Dean Smith (Aston Villa in 2019-20) and Ryan Mason (Tottenham in 2020-21).

Howe may draw confidence from the fact that since the 2009-10 season, Eddie Howe has overseen 22 wins in the EFL Cup - the same as Man City boss Pep Guardiola, while no manager has achieved more.

That will at least provide some inspiration as Newcastle's recent trips to Wembley have not been memorable ocassions.

Their last eight matches at the home of the England national side have all ended in defeat, which is the longest-ever losing run by a team at Wembley.

As a result, they have lost their last four, with their last win taking place in the 1955 FA Cup final.

On that occasion, Jackie Milburn scored the opener inside a minute against Man City, as Newcastle went on to claim a 3-1 victory.

Milburn and Robert Lee, who scored in the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea in the 1999-00 season, are the only two players to have scored at Wembley for Newcastle and for their country.

After finding the net for England in a friendly against the USA in November 2018, Callum Wilson could become the third player to achieve that feat.