Welcome to the Newcastle v Manchester City preview.
Tuesday 13th January and an 8pm kick-off for this League Cup semi-final.
The League Cup holders Newcastle United look to defend their title this Tuesday night when hosting Man City in the first-leg of the semi-final.
The Toon look to continue an incredible run under Eddie Howe in the competition that has seen us compete in two finals (winning one) and reach a quarter-final over the previous three seasons.
The two sides will be meeting again at the Etihad in three weeks’ time to determine the winner of the tie and United will be desperate to take an advantage into what will undoubtedly be one of our toughest away games of the season.
Form
The Toon have beaten Bradford City, Spurs and Fulham in the League Cup so far this season, scoring eight goals and conceding two. When you take into account our winning run last season, then you have to go back to Dec 2023 for our last defeat in the competition when we were desperately unlucky to exit at the quarter-final stage on penalties after conceding a late equaliser away at Chelsea.
Man City have seen off Huddersfield, Swansea and Brentford to reach the semi-final this season scoring seven goals and conceding one. Their last defeat came in the fourth round of last season when they were dumped out by Tottenham in a 2-1 loss.
Last time out
The Toon hosted Bournemouth in the FA Cup on Saturday and played out an absolutely incredible tie that even rivalled our midweek classic with Leeds.
The Toon dominated the first half without taking the lead but soon put that right when Harvey Barnes opened the scoring at the start of the second half. It could have been game over when Sven Botman headed against the bar with thirty minutes to play and the Toon were left to rue this moment of misfortune when Bournemouth went up the other end and scored twice in quick succession to seemingly win the match.
Back came Newcastle though and in the second minute of injury time, Tonali was played through on goal and was hacked down in the area. Gordon was able to fire the penalty into the bottom corner to force extra time. The additional thirty minutes saw both teams looking exhausted but the Toon seemed to have won it with just two minutes left when Barnes headed home at the Gallowgate End. Unbelievably, Bournemouth had just enough time to equalise and ensure a penalty shootout.
With the score 3-3 after the first five, United won in sudden death with Ramsdale being the hero, having made three saves to send the Toon into the next round.
Manchester City welcomed Exeter to the Etihad on Saturday and showed no mercy in an absolutely ruthless display that saw the blues take a 4-0 lead by half-time. The scoring spree continued into the second half and ended up in a 10-1 victory for the citizens.
Stat attack!
-Newcastle have never lost a League Cup semi-final. We’ve beaten Tottenham in 1976, Southampton in 2023 and Arsenal in 2025, all over two legs.
-This is the first time the Toon have ever been at home in the first leg of a League Cup semi-final.
-NUFC have won the past two League Cup ties with Man City,2-0 away in 14/15 and 1-0 at home in 23/24.
Memorable match
In 23/24, Eddie Howe’s Magpies were determined to go one better in the League Cup having reached the final the previous season. The third round saw us drawn at home to Man City in a tie that could barely have been tougher. The first half saw a jaded display from a much-changed United but things changed when Bruno and Gordon came on at half-time and we started to get a foothold in the match. It took just eight minutes of the second half for this to bear fruit when brilliant work from Joelinton allowed Isak a tap in at the back post to put the Toon ahead and this was a lead we never looked like relinquishing. A reward for this victory was a tie at Old Trafford where we gained revenge for the final defeat with a stunning 3-0 victory. Newcastle 1-0 Man City
Played for both
Steve Howey, despite being from Sunderland, spent eleven years at Newcastle United and was part of the team that came ‘so close’ to winning the Premier League title in 95/96. He ended that season in the England squad for Euro ‘96 and was an unused substitute in the opening match against Switzerland. He signed for Man City in 2000 and spent three seasons with the blues, being fondly remembered for a late equaliser away at Man United.
James Milner has just achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the first player to play in the Premier League for twenty-five consecutive calendar years. Signed by Sir Bobby in 2004, Milner will always have a place in our hearts for scoring a crucial equaliser in a 1-1 draw away at Sunderland in 2007. He played ninety-four league matches for NUFC and scored six goals, including an absolute beauty at home to Man Utd in a 2-2 when he smashed an effort into the corner. His departure was to have huge ramifications for NUFC and led to Keegan walking away from Mike Ashley’s disastrous regime, ensuring a civil war between fans and owner that lasted thirteen long and miserable years. He played for Aston Villa before signing for Man City in 2010 where he played one-hundred and forty-seven matches, scoring thirteen league goals.
Antoine Sibierski was an underwhelming signing for fans when he was bought from Man City by Glenn Roeder in 2006. Despite this, the Frenchman had a knack of scoring very important goals including a winner on his debut away to Levadia Tallinn as well as the only goal in a six-pointer at home to Portsmouth and a late strike to beat Fenerbahce in the UEFA Cup. A string of fine performances coupled with his eye for goal saw many supporters hoping he would stay, but he wanted a two-year contract extension and decided to leave for Wigan, when he was only offered the one. He ingratiated himself further to the Toon Army when scoring in the same week for the latics against both Middlesbrough and Sunderland. Before signing for the Toon he had played ninety-two times for Man City, scoring eleven goals.
Managers
Eddie Howe after a penalty shootout victory against Bournemouth:
“A really great cup tie, I thought. Two teams going for the win. Again, a very open game, similar to Leeds, in the respect that I think we’ve had a right go today. The players have worked far harder than we wanted them to, with extra time, especially with Tuesday in mind, but the priority was to try and get through and sustain the competition, and we’ve managed that, so we’re very pleased. Now we’ve got to count the cost of it, really, and try and regroup and try and get the players fresh for Tuesday”
Man City assistant manager Pep Lijnders after a 10-1 win at home to Exeter City:
“We want to reach finals this year and we are on our way. We play now the semi-final for the League Cup. We go further here in the FA Cup and we are in the Champions League in a good position. We want to build on that. But for us the most important thing, Pep says it all the time, we want to grow, we want to build, we want to make the next step as a team. For that we need to keep working hard and take nothing for granted. With this we will grow and we will make the next step.”
Charity
Newcastle United fans food bank will once again be collecting opposite the Gallowgate end and gratefully receiving food, money and toiletries for those in need. Of particular interest are non-perishable food and drink items (such as noodles, pasta, rice, canned food, soup, cereal, cordial, long life milk etc) as well as toiletries such as shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste and sanitary products. Please give whatever you can, any donation is very much appreciated.
For further info and/or to donate online go to Newcastle Foodbank
Prediction
Newcastle will know that the key to making a return to Wembley will hinge on winning the home leg of this semi-final. Despite the drama of the eventful last two matches, I’m expecting a resolute defensive performance this time around and a smash and grab victory on the break. The Toon to score early on and show perfect game management to take a lead into the return game. Newcastle 1-0 Man City
