Newcastle and Manchester City meet in the Carabao Cup’s first glamour tie this season as the two sides battle it out in the third round at St James’ Park on Wednesday night.
The Magpies warmed up for their clash with the best club team in the world by dismantling an awful Sheffield United side 8-0 on Sunday, with eight different goalscorers getting in on the action.
City were made to work harder than expected for victory over Nottingham Forest thanks to Rodri’s red card and have a wonderful record in this competition under Pep Guardiola, winning the trophy four times since the Catalan’s arrival.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the cup game.
Newcastle vs Manchester City H2H record (Last Five Games)
Current form (Last Five Games)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Ultra HD |
|
United States |
ESPN+ |
|
Canada |
DAZN |
Harvey Barnes was left cursing his luck after getting injured at Bramall Lane, having to watch on from the sidelines as the Magpies helped themselves to the buffet of goals on offer from their hosts. His replacement Anthony Gordon was electric from the bench and will surely get a start as reward.
Former Leicester winger Barnes isn’t expected to feature here, joining Joelinton, Joe Willock and Emil Krafth in the treatment room.
Alexander Isak will likely come in as Newcastle’s starting striker in place of Callum Wilson, but manager Eddie Howe is expected to field a strong team as he looks to take his side one step further in the Carabao Cup than they managed last season when they were defeated finalists.
Newcastle predicted lineup vs Manchester City (4-3-3): Pope; Livramento, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Tonali; Almiron, Isak, Gordon.
Pep Guardiola joked he could field himself in the trip to Tyneside, though his broader point was on the fatigue suffered by the likes of Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias and how fringe players would get opportunities instead.
Rodri will enjoy an enforced break after being shown a straight red card in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, while Kevin De Bruyne is a long-term absentee. Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva and John Stones are also sidelined with injuries.
The Cityzens should still field a strong team, having enjoyed great success in the Carabao Cup in recent years.
Manchester City predicted lineup vs Newcastle (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gomez; Nunes, Phillips; Foden, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland.
Newcastle will hope the thrashing of Sheffield United can kick-start their season, with the Magpies now unbeaten in three games and up to eighth in the Premier League having endured a tough start.
Guardiola may not be keen to deploy some of his exhausted stars but the depth of his squad still makes the treble winners favourites on their visit to St James’ Park.
City‘s only defeat this season came when a penalty shootout crowned Arsenal as Community Shield victors and Newcastle may need to see out the full 90 minutes to have a shot of reaching the fourth round.
Prediction: Newcastle 1-2 Manchester City
READ 90MIN’S FULL MATCH PREVIEWS HERE
