The 2020-2021 Carabao Cup final is between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. It is scheduled to take place at the Wembley Stadium in April.
Tottenham Hotspur was the first to qualify for the final of the competition after defeating Brentford 2-0 on Tuesday, January 5, 2020. That became the first time in 13 years that Tottenham Hotspur made it to the final of a league cup, thanks to the seriousness coach Jose Mourinho put into the competition.
Jose Mourinho is now the first coach to make it to the final of the EFL Cup 5 times and the third coach to lead three different clubs to the semi-final of the competition. He has won the competition a record 4 times, hence, he knows what it takes to conquer the EFL title.
The profile of the coach when it comes to the Carabao Cup final has given fans of Tottenham Hotspur the hope of winning a major title for the first time in 13 years. The last time Tottenham won the competition was in 2008 when they defeated Chelsea in the final.
On the other hand, Pep Guardiola of Manchester City has proven to be an expert in the competition since he joined the Premier League club in 2016. The Spanish tactician showed his dominance in the competition by leading Manchester City to defeat Manchester United 2-0 in the semi-final played on Wednesday away at Old Trafford.
Hence, Pep Guardiola is on the verge of leading Manchester City to the EFL Cup final for the third time in a row. He joined the club when the club was the defending champions of the competition and went on to win it three successive times.
If he wins this season’s edition of the competition, he and Mourinho would be the joint-most successful coaches of the EFL Cup. Besides that, Guardiola could become the first football manager to successfully wins the competition 4 successive times if he conquers Mourinho in April.
Anything below victory for Manchester City might be difficult to take because the club has been the sole winner of the competition since the 2017-2018 season.
So, it will be a battle of two coaches who understand the Carabao Cup very well. Pep Guardiola has never lost in the final of the competition; while Mourinho has lost one of the 5 EFL Cup final he has led clubs to.
The battle line is drawn between the two clubs as far as the league final is a concern. The team that will win it would be the team that wants it the most.