Overview
Defending champion Newcastle United will host Manchester City in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Both teams have sweet memories of this playground in recent years and both set a goal to create an advantage before the second leg at Etihad.
Man City once dominated the Carabao Cup with four consecutive championships in the 2018-2021 period, while Newcastle closed 70 years of waiting for a major title last season with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the final.
Newcastle, the team that successively defeated Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Brentford and Arsenal on the way to the throne, currently owns a 9-match winning streak at the Carabao Cup Cup. If you do not count the victories after the penalty shootout, only Liverpool (11 matches in the 1994-1995 period) and Arsenal (10 matches in the 1987-1988 period) have a longer winning streak in this tournament.
The victories against Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham this season have put Eddie Howe's team in the Carabao Cup Cup semi-finals for the third time in four seasons. Newcastle also aims to maintain an absolute win rate in the semi-finals, having won all 3 of their previous semi-finals in the tournament.
Lewis Miley's decisive goal in the 92nd minute against Fulham in the previous round was like the opening of a late drama series at St James' Park. Here, Bruno GuimarAes and Harvey Barnes both scored in injury time to help Newcastle win a thrilling 4-3 victory over Leeds United in the Premier League.
The emotions continued to extend to the FA Cup. Anthony Gordon scored the equalizer in the 95th minute from a penalty spot, bringing the third round match against Bournemouth into extra time. After that, Bournemouth again had a late equalizer in the 122nd minute to bring the match to a penalty shootout.
Here, Aaron Ramsdale became the hero with an excellent save from Bafode Diakite's shot, helping Newcastle win 7-6. In all competitions, Newcastle has won 5/7 of the most recent penalty shootouts.
In the opposite direction, Man City had a easier journey to enter the fourth round of the FA Cup, thanks to a devastating 10-1 victory over Exeter City at the Etihad. Newcomer Antoine Semenyo is one of the players who scored, contributing to Man City's biggest victory in the FA Cup since the victory over Huddersfield Town with the same score in 1987.
This is also the first time a top English club has scored 10 goals or more in a match in any league since Liverpool defeated Fulham 10-0 in the League Cup in the 1986-1987 season.
Especially at this season's Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola's team has scored 7 goals and conceded only 1 goal on the way to the semi-finals, after successively defeating Huddersfield, Swansea City and Brentford. Man City has also passed the Carabao Cup semi-finals in the last six times and have both advanced to the championship, and have won both recent times against the defending champion of the tournament.
However, history also opened up hope for Newcastle. Only twice the defending champion was eliminated in the Carabao Cup semi-finals (Tottenham in the 1971-1972 season and Blackburn Rovers in the 2002-2003 season). This factor is even more noteworthy when Man City is having problems in defense, with Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and John Stones all injured.
Head-to-head record
Newcastle have defeated Man City 2-1 in the Premier League this season and are aiming to win two or more victories against this opponent in the same season - something they have not done since the 1983-1984 season.
In the Carabao Cup arena, Newcastle is also holding an advantage in head-to-head recently. They have won both of their most recent encounters with Man City, respectively 2-0 (October 2014) and 1-0 (September 2023).
Score prediction: Newcastle 1-2 Man City
The match between Newcastle and Man City takes place at 3:00 AM on January 14 (Vietnam time).
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