Why is the League Cup final so late this year?

The League Cup final will be played at Wembley on Sunday 16 March 2025.

Defending champions Liverpool will face Newcastle United with the first piece of silverware for the English football season on the line.

Arne Slot’s men will be attempting to exorcise some demons following their Champions League exit in midweek, while Eddie Howe and his men look to end a 70 year wait for a domestic trophy on Tyneside. But why is it being held in the middle of March?

Why is the Carabao Cup final so late this year?

The famous EFL Cup trophy with Jose Mourinho (Image credit: Getty Images)The answer as to why the League Cup final is much later than the traditional February date lies within the ever congested football calendar.

In the new Champions League ‘League Phase’ teams now play eight games, instead of the previous six. Domestic calendars across Europe mean that all eight cannot be played before Christmas, meaning two are now played in January.

Eddie Howe is looking to end 70 years of hurt for Newcastle fans (Image credit: Getty Images)These took place in mid-January, exactly when the semi-finals used to take place. These were therefore moved but added even more scheduling problems.

The first legs of the semi-finals took place on January 7/8, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham (three of this years semi-finalists) then playing every midweek through the month in either the Premier League or Europe. It meant the second-legs could not take place until a month after, happening on February 5/6, two weeks or so later than in previous years.

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Around the time the final usually takes place, the Lionesses were playing Spain at Wembley in the Nations League, meaning the final was unlikely to take place then.

The schedule of England’s other cup competition, the FA Cup, meant the fifth round, which you would have expected Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle to play in, was set for the first week of March, and it would not have been possible to play the final then with the potential involvement of all of those clubs.

The following week on March 8, the Sidemen Charity match took place at Wembley Stadium meaning the final would also not take place then.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot wants to retain the League Cup and bounce back after their Champions League exit (Image credit: Getty Images)Hence we arrive at March 16. Its crucial to play the final before the next International break, with the FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League all ramping up a gear ahead of the final stretch of the season.

Of course Premier League fixtures were scheduled for this weekend, but Liverpool’s game away against Aston Villa was brought forward, and Newcastle’s clash with Crystal Palace has been moved to April 16.

The fact Newcastle had no European commitments meant they could delay the fixture, but Liverpool and Aston Villa’s Champions League campaign made it difficult to predict when it might be possible to squeeze it in, and left February 19 as the only option.

So there we have it. The ever congested football calendar has seen the Carabao Cup final delayed almost two weeks but it will be a spectacle all the same.