Manchester United handed ‘advantage’ ahead of Newcastle United clash - according to ex-Tottenham Hotspur man

Cup finals are where heroes are made and that could be the case for Loris Karius on Sunday. Set to make his Newcastle United debut at Wembley, the German has the chance to write his name into Newcastle folklore.

The former Liverpool man has the full backing of his team mates and coaches ahead of Sunday’s game. However, ex-Premier League footballer Jamie O’Hara believes having Karius in goal, rather than Nick Pope, gives Manchester United the advantage on Sunday.

O’Hara told Grosvenor Sport: “I think Man United win this one now. I just look at it now and think, Loris Karius in goal, he hasn’t played, he’s Newcastle’s third choice!

“The pressure is going to be on him big time. I hope he does have a good game, I really do, because that Champions League final wrecked his confidence for a long time.

“Hopefully, he has a good game, but I just can’t see Newcastle getting past Manchester United; [Manchester] United are in great form at the minute, and Newcastle are stuttering.

“It’s a bad time to have a final for them. Now the tie goes in Man United’s favour just on the fact Newcastle have a third-choice goalkeeper and they’re in great form.”

O’Hara added: “I missed a penalty in the League Cup final against Man United and played in a final a year after and was still thinking about the miss. It’s impossible to get it out of your mind. You learn to deal with it and get on with it, but it will have knocked his confidence.

“Hopefully, he has learned from it. If he is a good keeper, he will be thinking about it but thinking about it in a positive light – don’t make that mistake again, don’t do anything stupid, and keep it simple. It might actually hold him in good stead, we’ll see.”

The former Spurs man also revealed who he believes could be the difference-maker for Erik ten Hag’s side. “We big players up a lot.” O’Hara said. “Marcus Rashford is probably the hottest player in the Premier League right now, he is in unbelievable form and is brilliant to watch.”