Newcastle United welcome Manchester City to St James’ Park on Saturday night for a crucial FA Cup fifth‑round clash.
It marks the fifth meeting between the sides this season, and the fourth in 2026. And we’re only in March.
Man City predicted lineup vs Newcastle
Man City (4-2-2-2): Trafford; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Gonzalez, Lewis; Cherki, Bernardo; Semenyo, Marmoush.
Newcastle secured a superb, albeit energy-sapping, midweek win over Manchester United after going down to 10 men in the first half.
Meanwhile, Man City travel north after a frustrating draw with Nottingham Forest that widened Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League.
Man City team news vs Newcastle
Man City remain without Josko Gvardio and Mateo Kovacic, while Nico O’Reilly is a minor doubt after missing the draw with Nottingham Forest due to an ankle knock sustained last weekend. Pep Guardiola stated the left-back’s involvement will depend on how he responds in the final training session.
With a Champions League trip to Real Madrid looming next week, the Man City boss is expected to rotate, opening the door for several squad players to return to the XI.
James Trafford, who performed well in the club’s 2-0 fourth round win over Salford City, is set to return in goal. Abdukodir Khusanov, John Stones and Rico Lewis are all in contention for recalls as Guardiola manages minutes across his back line and midfield.
Further forward, Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijnders, Jeremy Doku, Savinho and Omar Marmoush are pushing to start
Guardiola must also decide whether to keep faith with in‑form Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland. The latter completed 90 minutes in midweek after recovering from a “little injury”.
A one-sided rivalry
This will be the fifth meeting between the clubs this season, with Man City winning three of the previous four. That includes both legs of the Carabao Cup semi‑final. But Newcastle claimed a memorable 2-1 league win at St James’ Park in November.
With both sides on opposite sides of the Champions League draw, a sixth meeting later in the campaign is only possible if both reach the final.
For the Magpies, Saturday represents a chance to complete a remarkable Manchester double after beating Man Utd 2-1 in the Premier League on Wednesday.
For Man City, it is another step on the road to a potential quadruple trophy haul in what could be Guardiola’s final campaign in charge at the club.
The former Barcelona boss spoke about his respect for Newcastle counterpart Howe at the pre-match press conference, but there are few managers over whom he has a better record.
Guardiola has achieved 18 wins and two draws with only two defeats from 22 previous matches against Howe’s teams. Only Marco Silva, Sean Dyche and Graham Potter having fared worse from at least 10 meetings with the Man City boss.
