Newcastle United will host Manchester City at St James’ Park on Tuesday in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final tie. The Magpies aim to defend the trophy they won in 2024-25, while City are looking to lift the cup for the first time since 2020-21.
Newcastle ended a 70-year wait for a major trophy last season, defeating Liverpool 2-1 in the EFL Cup final at Wembley, with goals from Alexander Isak and Dan Burn securing the historic win.
Under Eddie Howe, the Magpies have enjoyed a strong defence of their title so far. They cruised past Bradford City 4-1 in the third round, beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the fourth round, and narrowly overcame Fulham 2-1 in the quarter-finals thanks to a 92nd-minute strike from Lewis Miley.
Now comes their toughest test yet: Manchester City. Newcastle have a solid recent record against City at home, winning two, drawing one, and losing one of their last four league meetings. They also defeated City in both of their last two EFL Cup encounters, giving the Magpies confidence heading into this semi-final.
Newcastle’s current form is impressive, with three wins and a draw in their last four matches, including a 7-6 penalty shootout victory over Bournemouth. The Magpies are unbeaten in their last 13 home games, with 10 wins and three draws, making St James’ Park a tough place to visit.
Manchester City, meanwhile, are in excellent form themselves, unbeaten in their last 12 matches with nine wins and three draws. Their most recent fixture saw a remarkable 10-1 victory over Exeter City.
Despite this form, City have struggled in recent EFL Cups, exiting in the third round in 2023-24, fourth round in 2021-22 and 2024-25, and the quarter-finals in 2022-23. Wins against Huddersfield Town (2-0), Swansea City (3-1), and Brentford (2-0) have propelled Pep Guardiola’s side to their first semi-final in four seasons, and they will be eager to go all the way this term.
City will aim to avoid a repeat of their 2-1 Premier League defeat at Newcastle in November 2025 and will look to take a strong result back to the Etihad for the second leg in early February. Their last win at St James’ Park came exactly two years ago, a thrilling 3-2 victory featuring a 91st-minute winner from Norwegian winger Oscar Bobb.
INJURIES & SUSPENSIONS
Newcastle will be without Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Fabian Schar, Jamaal Lascelles, and William Osula due to injuries, while Anthony Elanga is a doubt. Harvey Barnes, in fine form with four goals in his last two games, is expected to lead the attack alongside Anthony Gordon, Nick Woltemade, and Yoane Wissa.In midfield, Bruno Guimaraes should start alongside Sandro Tonali, while the back four could feature Lewis Miley, Malick Thiaw, Sven Botman, and Lewis Hall, who replaced Valentino Livramento against Bournemouth.
Manchester City have several absentees, including John Stones, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Dias, Savinho, and Oscar Bobb. Max Alleyne and Abdukodir Khusanov have formed the centre-back partnership in recent matches and are likely to continue. Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly may feature as full-backs.
Phil Foden was rested in City’s 10-1 win over Exeter and could return alongside Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Jeremy Doku, and Erling Haaland in attack.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Newcastle United:
Ramsdale; Miley, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes; Gordon, Woltemade, Barnes; Wissa
Manchester City:
Trafford; Nunes, Khusanov, Alleyne, O’Reilly; Gonzalez; Cherki, Foden, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland
EXPERT PREDICTION
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
