Man Utd have only three stars left from last Carabao Cup-winning team

The United squad now is almost entirely different to the one that lifted the League Cup back then under Jose Mourinho. Just three players from that day remain under Erik ten Hag. One of them is David de Gea, still the No 1 at Old Trafford as he has been since 2011-12. He will make his 523rd appearance for the club against Newcastle.

The defence that started in front of De Gea against Southampton comprised of Antonio Valencia, captain Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo but none will be present this weekend. Valencia stayed at United until 2019 before returning to Colombia and then retiring in May 2021.

Smalling is meanwhile a regular starter for Jose Mourinho’s Roma, having joined the Italian outfit in 2020. Bailly technically remains a United player but is on loan at Marseille where he has only played sporadically. The Ivorian will surely depart the Red Devils permanently this summer.

Rojo left United two years ago to return to Argentina, where he remains today, playing for Boca Juniors. Luke Shaw was at the club then but was not in the squad for the final.

Mourinho deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation against Southampton with Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba the two-man midfield partnership, and the duo are still playing at a high level for Athletic Bilbao and Juventus respectively. Pogba’s return to Juve, having left United last summer, though because he is yet to make a competitive appearance due to injury.

Ahead of the duo in the No 10 role was Juan Mata, another player who only left in 2022. The Spaniard is now playing for Galatasaray in Turkey. To Mata’s left six years ago was Anthony Martial, who remains at United but whose promise has been blighted by injury and indifferent form. It remains to be seen how long he’ll get under Ten Hag.

Jesse Lingard started on the right-hand side against the Saints and made it 2-0 on the day. He too only left last summer and is now at Nottingham Forest, who United saw off in the semi-finals to set up today’s showdown.

Ibrahimovic meanwhile led the line and was the cup final hero, scoring an 87th-minute winner to seal a brace. The Swede is 41 years old but is actually still playing for Serie A champions AC Milan, where he has scored 33 times in 60 matches since joining in 2019.

United had a star-studded bench against Southampton consisting of Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Daley Blind, Ashley Young, Marcus Rashford, Sergio Romero and Marouane Fellaini. Only Rashford, the in-form England wide-man who will be United’s main attacking weapon against Newcastle, remains at the club.

The 25-year-old was only a teenager then but with 24 goals to his name this season, along with nine assists, he will be vital for United under the arch this evening. He goes into the match with a slight injury doubt but is expected to start.

Elsewhere, Rooney and Carrick are retired and in management, as the bosses of DC United and Middlesbrough respectively, while Blind is playing for Bayern Munich. Young is in the Premier League with Aston Villa while Romero is with Rojo at Boca Juniors and Fellaini turns out for Chinese team Shandong Taishan.

Whether the current United team can copy the 2017 crop and lift the trophy remains to be seen. If they do, Ten Hag will be keen to ensure another six-year trophy drought doesn’t follow.