Luke Shaw believes the Carabao Cup final represents a 'massive opportunity' for Manchester United but accepts Newcastle United will provide a 'tough game'. The Red Devils eased past Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Wednesday night to seal a 5-0 aggregate victory and book their place at Wembley later this month.
Newcastle dispatched Southampton the night before, and will now face their top-four rivals as they bid to end the club's painful trophy drought. Shaw believes the upcoming final is a 'big moment' in the Red Devils' development under Erik ten Hag, and could not hide his excitement at the tie following the 2-0 home win over Forest.
He told Sky Sports: "Of course it’s extremely pleasing, but I don’t think there’s any point going to a final if we don’t win it so it’s a massive opportunity for us. It’s where we want to be, playing in big games, big finals, and getting this club back to where it should be.
"That’s challenging for trophies, we’ve got a big one against Newcastle, of course they’re an extremely good team and it’s going to be a tough game but it’s a big moment for us in where we want to go."
Newcastle have three Premier League fixtures to negotiate before making their latest trip to the capital, starting with a home encounter against West Ham. It is a busier period for Manchester United, who also have a Europa League knockout tie with Barcelona in the days leading up to the Carabao Cup final.
Shaw insists the demanding schedule over the next four weeks means the Red Devils can not afford to look too far ahead with Newcastle on the horizon. He added: "I think it shows where we are at the moment, the boys are in a really good moment and especially at home we feel the crowd are with us and hearing them now we know that.
"It’s a final we can really look forward to but we’ve got a few big games coming up first before we go there."
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