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Man City vs Newcastle: Carabao Cup semi-final match preview and team news
03rd February, 2026 03:16 PM
Newcastle United face a major challenge on Wednesday night, February 4, 2026, as they head to the Etihad Stadium needing to overturn a two-goal deficit against Manchester City in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final.
The Magpies, who are the defending champions, trail heavily after the first leg and must produce a top-class attacking display if they are to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive. History is not on their side, as Newcastle have struggled badly at the Etihad over the past decade, making the task even tougher.
City, however, are not without their flaws. Pep Guardiola’s side recently let a two-goal lead slip against Tottenham in the Premier League, highlighting defensive vulnerabilities that Newcastle will be eager to exploit. Despite that, the bookmakers strongly favour City to progress, with Newcastle given long odds of staging a comeback.
In the reverse fixture, Antoine Semenyo opened the scoring on 52 minutes with Rayan Cherki adding a second deep into added time. The advantage could have been larger had a second Semenyo goal not been ruled out by VAR.
Team news
The Magpies will have to dig deeper for a result in Manchester. Ahead of the crucial encounter, Sven Botman is available, but Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley are unlikely to feature.
Manchester City sealed the move of Marc Guehi in the January 2026 transfer window, but he will not be available to face Newcastle on Wednesday night.
Manchester City reaped the benefits of a Carabao Cup rule change for their semi-final with Newcastle this season. For the first time, players were allowed to represent more than one team in the competition if they moved during it.
Despite the rules having been changed this season, there was a time restriction that meant players had to be available for their second club before the first leg of the semi-final.
Given that Guehi did not join City until after they had played Newcastle, he is not eligible to feature in the second leg. Should the Blues make it to the final at Wembley, Guehi again will have to sit it out despite Semenyo and Alleyne being eligible for selection.
