Newcastle-Manchester City is a League Cup third round match played on Wednesday at 9pm: stats, lineups and predictions.
The League Cup is a cup that has been close to Pep Guardiola’s heart since he took over as Manchester City coach in 2016. With the Catalan coach at the helm, the Cityzens have won four (in a row), although the last time they won was in 2021. Last February it was their cousins Manchester United who triumphed, while in 2022 Liverpool won the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons.
The path of the reigning European and English champions this time starts with Newcastle, certainly not the best opponent they could find in the third round. Guardiola probably won’t be able to overdo the changes, as he had intended, but the turnover will still be robust. His City come from yet another league victory: last Saturday they got the better of a tough Nottingham Forest (2-0), who, despite going down by two goals after a quarter of an hour, took advantage of Rodri’s expulsion at the beginning of the second half to get back into the game and put Ederson in trouble several times. For Haaland and his team-mates it was their eighth win in a row, allowing them to remain alone at the top of the Premier League table, the only ones still on full points.
Magpies fresh from a thunderbolt at Sheffield United
It was also a happy weekend for Newcastle, who after a close call at San Siro against AC Milan in the Champions League, annihilated Sheffield United (0-8).
Eddie Howe, Newcastle coach
The Magpies were unstoppable against the newly-promoted side, scoring eight different goals and picking up their second win in a row after Brentford. The Bianconeri were on the up after three consecutive defeats at the turn of August and September, one of which came against Manchester City, who won 1-0 on matchday two thanks to a goal from Julian Alvarez.
The Prediction
Newcastle’s last win against City was in 2019: not even in their ‘new era’ have the Magpies managed to get the better of Guardiola’s battleship. The Cityzens have practically only won so far and can’t fail to start as favourites at St. James’ Park, but, as in the league, it won’t be a walk in the park to get the better of the Bianconeri, especially if the Catalan coach exaggerates with the turnover. Both teams should score on at least one occasion.
The Newcastle-Manchester City line-up probables
- NEWCASTLE (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Tonali; Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
- MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Aké, Gomes; Matheus Nunes, Phillips; Foden, Julian Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2