Newcastle United will look to defend their Carabao Cup title as they host Manchester City at St James’ Park in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday evening.
The Magpies ended a 70-year wait for major silverware last season, beating Liverpool 2–1 in the final at Wembley.
Eddie Howe’s side are unbeaten in their last four matches since a 1–0 defeat to Manchester United in December. That run includes Premier League victories over Burnley, Crystal Palace and Leeds United.
Newcastle come into the tie on the back of a dramatic FA Cup third-round victory, edging past Bournemouth 7–6 on penalties.
Howe is expecting a tough test against Manchester City but believes the home crowd can play a key role.
_“I think the natural preference is for the home game to be the second leg because you have a clear understanding of what you need to do and have the crowd with you,”_ Howe said.
_“It’s not like that for us this time. We need to use the home crowd to our advantage in the first game and give everything to impose ourselves.”_
Newcastle are chasing a fifth consecutive home victory, with Howe welcoming the Carabao Cup’s two-legged semi-final format while acknowledging the scale of the challenge ahead.
_“We enjoyed the two-legged format last year, and even the gap between the games was good because you could detach yourself from the result,”_ he said. _“It’s very similar this year._
_“This is going to be a tough challenge. They are the hardest team to play over two legs in this country._
_“They always change and tinker with their tactical set-up, even when they have players missing. The priority is always us – what we need to do and how we can hurt them.”_
Newcastle will be without Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Fabian Schär, Jamaal Lascelles and William Osula due to injury, while Anthony Elanga remains a doubt.
Manchester City arrive on Tyneside unbeaten in their last 12 matches in all competitions since a 2–0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in December.
Pep Guardiola’s side will be full of confidence after a 10–1 victory over Exeter City in the FA Cup third round. However, their most recent visit to St James’ Park ended in a 2–1 Premier League defeat in November.
Guardiola is expecting another difficult encounter against Howe’s side.
_“For many years – since Eddie Howe took over – Newcastle have been so tough,”_ Guardiola said. _“Look how many games they win at the last minute. The crowd pushes, the stadium is special, and it has been like that for a long time, _but if we had played Arsenal in the semi-final, it would be the same difficulty.”__
City will be without Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol, John Stones and Savinho through injury.
The match will be broadcast live on ITV 1 and Sky Sports Main Event and will kick off at 8pm UK time.