Newcastle United and Liverpool finally learn Carabao Cup Final kick-off time after rumours of 8pm start

We have known the date of the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley for a while now - 16th March - but until today, there was no kick-off time set.

There had been rumours that the final would be pushed to 8 pm as there are four London clubs in Premier League action that day, and safety concerns were to lead the EFL to try and avoid any issues.

Thankfully, after consultation with Brent Council Safety Advisory Group and the Metropolitan Police Service, the kick-off time has been set to 4:30pm.

Newcastle United fans who were set to return home after the match will be very relieved to see that a sensible solution has been found.

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Fans will now be able to return home after the game

A large portion of fans will likely be staying overnight in the capital anyway, soaking up the occasion, but those hoping to return home after the match would have been out of luck had the kick-off time been set to 8pm as there would have been no trains back to the North East.

Fans have been sharing their success and failure stories online as they wait in digital queues to acquire their tickets for the game from their relevant pots.

Things will be very different in the capital this time around as the Toon Army will not be able to congregate around Trafalgar Square as they did last time, with that portion of London being closed off for the St Patrick's Day celebrations.

Can we speed up time to 16th March?

This probably factored into the thinking behind a potential late kick-off, as without one spot to pen in the supporters before they head to Wembley, they could be dotted around the Capital, and with four London clubs in action, it could have been chaos.

Hopefully, everything goes off without a hitch, and this decision turns out to be a good one - we can't see any reason why it wouldn't but you just never know.

Is it not March yet?