Manchester City close in on this season’s first taste of silverware as they travel to Newcastle eyeing a precious advantage in the first-leg of an enticing Carabao Cup Semi-Final.
City will face off against Newcastle United on Tuesday evening, walking in with an air of confidence after a string of draws to start 2026 was allayed by a double-figure home drubbing over a sorry Exeter side in Saturday’s FA Cup third round encounter.
The Blues ran a repeat of that fabled day in 1987, when three separate hat-trick scorers showed Huddersfield Town a 10-1 defeat at Maine Road; by happenstance the last time an English side has hit double figures in a match until last weekend.
The match was a spectacle for those excited by academy output, as the young blues stole the show through a brace from Rico Lewis and a strike from Nico O’Reilly, along with maiden City goals for both Max Alleyne and Ryan McAidoo to wrap up a place in the fourth round.
The long-envisioned and revered signing of Antoine Semenyo last week added an extra spoonful of anticipation, and the Ghanaian refused to wait in beginning to repay his £62.5 million price tag with a goal and an assist to his name.
Attention swiftly turns to the challenge of Newcastle at St. James’ Park – a fixture proven to be a thorn in the side of the Blues, yet City will be hoping to set up an advantage heading into the second-leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Suspense is mounting in the run up to the last-four for the Citizens even after a result for the ages in the third round of the FA Cup as the Blues continue their wait to beat a top-flight opponent this calendar year.
Off the back of cruising past Brentford at the Etihad Stadium in the quarter-final via a delightful Rayan Cherki effort followed by Savinho’s sealer, the holders Newcastle prepare to welcome a spirited City, but this time with the gleam of gold on their sleeves.
But being in their furthest stage of the League Cup since the memorable completion of the ‘Four-peat’ in the same competition in 2021, City are in their best position in five years to reclaim the title.
The final-four begin to enter a sprint for this season’s first chance of cup glory, and with Pep Guardiola returning to the touchline following a one-match ban served against Exeter, the Catalan coach will be itching to guide the Blues back to Carabao Cup mastery.
Here’s everything you need to know about this Tuesday’s Cup Clash in the North-East!
Match Details
Manchester City travel to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup Semi-Final first-leg on Tuesday 13th January, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 GMT.
Match Officials
Chris Kavanagh has been allocated officiating duties for this cup clash.
The Manchester-born referee has taken charge of Newcastle United matches more times than any other club, and last whistled Manchester City in their home crushing of Liverpool back in November.
Check out the full list of officials below!
Team News
Pep Guardiola is making a return to the technical area following a suspension after picking up a third yellow card of the ongoing campaign in last Wednesday’s draw against Brighton, but still must conquer a long injury list in making a careful team selection.
The Blues are without rearguard duo Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias, who remain on the treatment table until further notice, along with John Stones – who continues to weather what seems like a never-ending storm in his fight for fitness.
Omar Marmoush is preparing to take part in AFCON’s Semi-Final stage after playing an immense role across the tournament for Egypt, while Rayan Ait Nouri’s Algeria crashed out at the Quarter-Final stage on Saturday. City will be without both African stars against Newcastle, although the latter is eyeing up a Manchester United (A) return date.
Rounding off the unavailability list for Manchester City is attacking threats Savinho and Oscar Bobb, who join Mateo Kovacic in the stands for this affair – all with an expected return date tentatively penned for next month.
Eddie Howe and Newcastle United will have to make sacrifices in the name of unavailability. A skinned defensive line will cater for the injuries of Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Fabian Schar and Jamaal Lascelles, with all but the Swiss centre-back raring to return this month.
Will Osula is also still awaiting the all clear to return to the pitch following an ankle injury, while Anthony Elanga’s contribution remains doubtful due to a knock.
Head to Head
The latest instalment of this classic fixture saw the Magpies run out 2-1 home winners back in November in the Premier League, after Harvey Barnes’ heroics were enough to cancel out a Ruben Dias equaliser.
The Blues have to go back to January 2024 to relive their last win at St. James’ Park, when Kevin De Bruyne’s return from injury ignited a Premier League title surging flame, as the Belgian scored one and plated up Oscar Bobb’s famous dramatic winner.
The two clubs have faced off a whopping 195 times throughout two richly-cultured histories, even dating back to City’s tenure as ‘Ardwick FC’. The match-up remains fairly level, with City claiming 79 victories across this time, trumping Newcastle’s 72, and 42 draws.
Carabao Cup action at Newcastle’s home ground might bring up some sore memories for Manchester City faithful, as it was Alexander Isak’s decider in 2023 which dumped the Blues out of this very competition at the first time of asking.
Pep Guardiola Press Conference Notes
On fitness/injuries: “We’ll see after training. We have some players with niggles, and we’ll see how they feel this [Monday] afternoon… We’re going to take a decision, no risks for the players to get injured again.”
On two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final ties: “I said it from 10 years ago, when we won the Carabao Cups that I would love the semi-final of the Carabao Cup to be one game.”
Statistics
Only Arsenal have recorded as good a defensive record in this season’s Carabao Cup as Manchester City, with both sides having conceded just one goal in the competition, with City’s concession coming at the hands of a wonderstrike by Swansea City’s Goncalo Franco.
Manchester City’s double figure riot over Exeter last Saturday saw the Citizens become the first top flight team to net ten goals in a match since Liverpool beat Fulham 10-0 in 1986, however the last professional club to do it in all of English football, was Man City beating Huddersfield 10-1 in Division Two one year later!
Half of Man City’s 10 goals in the weekend’s FA Cup riot were scored by Manchester City academy products.
In Premier League history, Newcastle United have netted the 7th most goals against Manchester City, having scored 48. However, City have more than responded, with 107 strikes against the Magpies in the top flight alone, making them the Blues’ most scored against side.
The magpies ended a 65 year drought for silverware in last season’s competition, beating the then holders Liverpool in the final at Wembley 2-1 on a historic Geordie night.
How to Watch
Manchester City’s League Cup Semi-Final first-leg against Newcastle United will be broadcast on ITV1, STV, and Sky Sports for those in the United Kingdom.
Those in the United States will be able to watch the affair live on Paramount+.
Full global TV listings can be viewed here!
City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout Tuesday night’s match, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!