Manchester City are seeking a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals when they travel to a buzzing St James’ Park to face Newcastle United on Saturday night.
The Blues are eyeing cup glory as a potential route to trophies this season, with their Premier League champions hoping Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest allowed Arsenal to extend their lead to seven points – despite Manchester City having a game in hand.
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Guardiola’s side have faced Newcastle four times this season, winning three of them, including both legs of the Carabao Cup semi-finals, with an impressive 5-1 aggregate scoreline. Their most recent league outing came a few weeks ago when they lost 2-1 to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. Nico O’Reilly Net support.
Josco Gvaldiol He remains sidelined due to a tibia fracture he suffered against Chelsea in early January, an injury that could rule him out for the remainder of the season. Mateo Kovacic He has recently returned to full first-team training after recovering from Achilles surgery from November 2025.
O’Reilly is considered unavailable after sustaining an ankle injury against Leeds last weekend, but Guardiola confirmed on Friday that the 20-year-old was “feeling much better” and a final decision on his availability would be made that day. With the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid looming next week, rotation of the lineup is already on the agenda.
For a presenter, Eddie Howe didn’t have a few key figures. Bruno Guimarães, arguably Newcastle’s most influential player, is out with a hamstring injury, while Fabian Schaal (ankle), Emile Kraves (knee) and Lewis Miley (thigh) are all sidelined.
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Jacob Ramsey has been handed a one-match suspension following his controversial red card in Wednesday’s 2-1 Premier League win over Manchester United. Valentino Livramento is also unlikely to feature as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury.
The good news is that Howe confirmed that Nick Waltermade, who was absent due to illness in midweek, has returned to training and should be available for selection.
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Ahead of Saturday night’s 20:00 kick-off between Newcastle United and Manchester City in the UK, here are the confirmed line-ups at St James’ Park:
Newcastle United
Starting XI: Ramsdale, Trippier, Thio, Botman, Hall, Waltermade, Tonali, Willock, Elanga, Osura, Barnes
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Substitute: Pope, Byrne, Murphy, Liveramento, Joelinton, Gordon, Murphy, Visa, Neve
Manchester City
Starting XI: Trafford, Nunes, Kusanov, Stones, Ake, Nico, Reynders, O’Reilly, Savinho, Docu, Malmouche
Substitute: Donnarumma, Dias, Cherki, Gueshi, Rodri, Silva, Nouri, Semenho, Foden