If you've just awoken from a year-long coma - do not adjust your eyes. Loris Karius will start for Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final this Sunday. The shot-stopper, initially brought to Tyneside on a short-term deal earlier this season, has been thrust into the spotlight for the Magpies' biggest game in years due to some serious bad luck.
Nick Pope, who had not put a foot wrong this season before Saturday, is now left to rue the uncharacteristic error he made against Liverpool. With Martin Dubravka cup-tied and Karl Darlow out on loan, Newcastle will turn to Karius when they walk out at Wembley this weekend.
The ex-Liverpool goalkeeper has not played a competitive game of football since February 2021 when Union Berlin took on Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. Karius' last competitive game in English football was the 2018 Champions League final; a match he has long wished he could forget.
