Matthias Jaissle has insisted he knows the EFL Cup is important to Newcastle United ahead of their second-round tie against West Brom.
The Magpies won the competition in 2025, defeating Liverpool 2-1 in the final to end their 70-year wait for silverware.
Eddie Howe led Newcastle to the trophy before also reaching the semi-finals last season, though he left his role earlier this summer, being replaced by Jaissle.
Jaissle revealed the club tried to convince him of the importance of the EFL Cup by showing videos of their trophy celebrations from 2025, but he said it was not necessary.
“They have tried to convince me to show me the footage. It was not needed,” said Jaissle.
“It’s gone. The Carabao Cup is a big competition. It is important to the club – we are aware of that. We are looking forward to it. We want to play in this round.
“We have many players who are exhausted and some have minor injuries, so we need to see. We will make a decision when we get together on the team selection.
“We have the facility to regenerate mentally and physically.”
Poetry in motion pic.twitter.com/J2Hr7G3EeZ
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) August 24, 2026
This is the third EFL Cup match between Newcastle and West Brom, with the Baggies winning each of the previous two, both coming in the third round – 1-0 in October 1989 and 2-1 in October 2003.
However, Newcastle have lost just one of their last six matches against West Brom across all competitions (W3 D2) and are unbeaten in their last three (W2 D1) since a 1-0 defeat in the Premier League in April 2018.
The Magpies have also won five of their last seven EFL Cup ties against teams from a lower division (D1 L1), winning each of their last three since a 1-0 defeat to Brentford in the 2020-21 quarter-final.
