Newcastle United face Manchester City tonight.
Perfect timing for Eddie Howe and his players.
I hear the shouts of: “What do you mean??? Manchester City have just won 10-1 and signed Antoine Semenyo!”
Yes, those two things are absolutely true but let me explain.
It is ridiculous how they have changed the rules for this season, allowing players to appear for more than one club in the Carabao Cup in the same season (There again, when Newcastle’s January 2026 signing scores the winner against Arsenal at Wembley on Sunday 22 March 2026, I may think it wasn’t the worst ever rule change…).
Manchester City did win 10-1 on Saturday at home against League One Exeter City. Antoine Semenyo starting his first Man City match after only just joining, scoring and getting an assist.
Manchester City are the very best at doing that, at any time they can put out probably two different starting elevens who can batter lower league teams, especially if getting an early lead.
Tonight though, Manchester City aren’t at home and they aren’t playing a lower league team.
They are playing a Newcastle United team who have won all of their last four matches and at home, have won 11 of their last 13 and drawn the other two, never failing to score less than two goals in any of these 13 matches, including when defeating Manchester City 52 days ago…
Newcastle United were by far the better team on 22 November 2025 and Manchester City fortunate to only lose 2-1, both Big Nick and Harvey Barnes could and should have had hat-tricks, as well as some great chances for other United players.
Manchester City came into that Premier League match on Tyneside in great form, the previous PL game they had smashed Liverpool 3-0 and were on a run in all competitions of played 14, won 11, drawn 2 and lost 1.
Pep Guardiola’s side were showing signs of coming close again to the team that could steamroller any opposition.
Six and seven weeks later, not so steamrolling.
Manchester City have played three Premier League matches in 2026 and won none of them.
Their results since the turn of the year have been Sunderland 0 Man City 0, Man City 1 Chelsea 1, Man City 1 Brighton 1.
None of this is to say that Newcastle United will definitely win tonight, nor indeed, that Manchester City won’t win.
It is more a case of I think the Manchester City team that Newcastle United face tonight, will be very different to the one that United beat 52 days ago, both in terms of personnel and the form they are in ahead of playing NUFC.
Pep Guardiola is set to play James Trafford tonight, not Donnarumma, who is probably the best keeper in the Premier League. The Italy number one started at SJP in November, with Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol at centre-back.
Tonight, injury means that Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic, Oscar Bobb and Savinho are all set to be unavailable, Omar Marmoush is also missing, still with his country at the AFCON. Whilst left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri saw his return from AFCON delayed due to a missed flight and is also unlikely to be considered for a start.
Newcastle United have scored 12 goals across their last four matches and in the last three PL games, have had a total of 24 shots on target.
For once, the football gods, otherwise known as the broadcasters…have also smiled down on us. Newcastle United have had their next PL match pushed back to Sunday against rock bottom Wolves, whilst Man City have a 12.30pm Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Man U, desperately needing a win to stand any chance of catching Arsenal.
I think Pep Guardiola will be playing a strong team tonight BUT also with an eye on Saturday’s derby. I also think it would be a lot to ask Semenyo to start again, after so much football recently and making his big move, so I am confident he will be a danger from the bench at worst, not a starter.
Eddie Howe finally has two fit strikers, he has wingers in Barnes and Gordon who are scoring and creating, Bruno and Joelinton scoring goals.
So whilst Newcastle United have injury worries of their own and not ideal to have had the Bournemouth marathon following on from the astonishing Leeds one, I do think winning football matches is the best possible help on the adrenaline front when yet another massive game is up next.
As I said earlier, there is also a rare five days between tonight and the Wolves match, for Eddie Howe’s players, giving him far more scope to ask key players to give yet one more massive push, before probably getting a couple of days off.
This was undeniably a tough semi-final draw to get but there again, none of them would have been easy and indeed, Arsenal a worse one to get across two matches.
The return at the Etihad in a few weeks time will of course be tough but I am very confident that Newcastle can go there with a lead. Indeed, maybe even more than a one goal winning margin, as should have been the case 52 days ago.
Last season we did it the hard way, defeating AFC Wimbledon, Forest, Brentford, Chelsea, Arsenal (twice!) and Liverpool.
This time Spurs, Bradford, Fulham and now Man City (twice?) and either Arsenal or Chelsea, if reaching Wembley.
Nobody said it was going to be easy and reality is that with the way it is structured now, the Carabao Cup is arguably far tougher than the FA Cup to win, due to Champions League teams getting a bye in the second round AND not able to play each other in the third round. Making it all but inevitable that at least two or three of them (all four this season!) will end up in the semi-final.
Last season made it all the sweeter when we at last won a trophy, that Newcastle United did it the hard way, such tough opposition.
Bring on Manchester City and as the giant flag declares – Get Into Them!