Preview: Can Newcastle make their first EFL Cup semifinal since 1975-76?

Newcastle United face Brentford tomorrow in the Carabao Cup with a chance to become one of the final four clubs remaining.

Over the weekend, Newcastle United played to a 1-1 draw vs. Fulham in Premier League action. Now, they get a chance to turn their focus to the Carabao Cup, where they are set to take on Brentford in the quarterfinal.

For Newcastle United, this is a chance to make an appearance in the League Cup semifinal for the first time since the 1975-76 campaign. That season, the Magpies got all the way to the final, where they were defeated by Manchester City.

It will be interesting to see how Steve Bruce plays this tomorrow. He’s indicated that it’s been too long since Newcastle made a deep cup run and seems excited about the chance. I’d expect to see some squad rotation from the weekend, obviously, but there isn’t a ton of depth available right now.

I’d expect to see some faces that are outside of Bruce’s first or even second-choice lineups as they attempt to defeat their second division opponent.

Brentford are one of two Championship sides remaining as Stoke City will face Jose Mourinho and Spurs. This is the first-ever Carabao Cup semifinal for the Bees. Tomorrow, they will have the advantage of playing at Brentford Community Stadium, their new ground as of this season.

Former Newcastle United forward Ivan Toney is the man to watch for Brentford. He has scored in six of the club’s last eight league matches. He has not opened his tally in the EFL Cup yet and didn’t appear in Brentford’s fourth-round victory over Fulham.

The Bees are unbeaten in their last 13 matches with the most recent defeat coming to Stoke back in late October. They sit in fourth on the Championship table. These two sides have only met 11 times in their history and Newcastle have won eight of those fixtures, including six straight. The last meeting came in 2017 when Dwight Gayle and Daryl Murphy gave the Magpies a 2-1 win in the Championship.