Newcastle vs Man City LIVE commentary: Kick-off time, team news and where to watch Carabao Cup semi-final first leg

Newcastle welcome Manchester City to St James’ Park in the first of this week’s Carabao Cup semi-final first legs, live on talkSPORT.

The Magpies are bidding to defend their stunning 2025 triumph, which saw them end a 70-year wait for a major trophy with victory over Liverpool at Wembley.

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Eddie Howe‘s side booked their spot in this season’s final four with a 2-1 win over Fulham in December, thanks to a late Lewis Miley winner.

The Toon Army have been in fine form recently, winning three straight Premier League games before beating Bournemouth on penalties in a marathon FA Cup clash on Saturday.

But they face a huge test if they are to become back-to-back champions, as they take on eight-time EFL Cup winners Man City.

The Citizens head into the clash off the back of a thumping 10-1 victory over League One outfit Exeter in the FA Cup.

This saw Pep Guardiola‘s side get back to winning ways, having drawn each of their previous three league fixtures, causing them to fall six points behind table toppers Arsenal.

Newcastle vs Manchester City: Date and how to follow

This Carabao Cup semi-final first leg clash will take place on Tuesday, January 13.

Kick off at St James’ Park is set for 8pm.

talkSPORT will have live coverage from Tyneside, with Adrian Durham serving as your presenter.

Commentary will come from Sam Matterface, and former England striker Dean Ashton.

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The match will be shown on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event, and is also available to watch free-to-air on ITV 1.

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• This will be the seventh EFL Cup meeting between Newcastle and Manchester City, with the Citizens edging the head-to-head record (W3 L2 D1). None of these previous matches have been in the semi-finals, while City clinched a 2-1 win over the Magpies in the 1976 League Cup final at Wembley.
• In the last Carabao Cup encounter between the two sides in September 2023, Newcastle ran out 1-0 winners in the third round, with Alexander Isak scoring the winner.
• Newcastle have won just one of their previous five games against Man City in all competitions (W1 D1 L3). The Magpies came out on top in the last meeting between the two sides, winning their Premier League encounter 2-1 in November.
• Tonight’s clash is Man City’s first League Cup semi-final appearance since 2021. The Citizens suffered a third-round exit in 2023/24, while they were knocked out in the fourth round in 2021/22 and 2024/25 and in the quarter-finals in 2022/23.
• Man City share the record for the most consecutive League Cup wins, having won four consecutive titles between 2018 and 2021. Victory over Tottenham in the 2021 final saw them equal Liverpool’s record in the competition, set between 1981 and 1984.

Newcastle vs Manchester City: Team news

Newcastle have a lengthy injury list to contend with ahead of the Man City clash, which now includes centre-back Fabian Schar.

Schar suffered a serious-looking ankle injury in the win over Bournemouth, while full-back Tino Livramento was also forced off with a hamstring injury at the weekend.

This leaves the Magpies’ extremely light at the back, with Dan Burn and Emil Krafth also long-term absentees.

In attack, William Osula is out with an ankle problem, while Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga face late fitness tests to feature.

As for City, they face no shortage of fitness issues either, with a number of players on their treatment table.

John Stones, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Dias, Savinho and Oscar Bobb are all sidelined with ongoing injuries.

Rayan Ait-Nouri is unlikely to feature, despite Algeria’s exit from the Africa Cup of Nations, while Omar Marmoush is still away at the tournament, after Egypt reached the semi-finals.

But the Citizens have been handed a boost ahead of the Newcastle clash, with January arrival Antoine Semenyo eligible to play, despite also featuring in the Carabao Cup for Bournemouth this season.

Newcastle vs Manchester City: What has been said?

Looking ahead to the clash, Newcastle boss Howe claimed City are the toughest team to face over a two-legged tie.

He said: “I think the natural preference is for the home game to be the second leg because you have a clear understanding of what we need to do and have the home crowd with you.

“It is not like that for us this time. We need to use the home crowd for our advantage in the first game, trying to give everything to impose ourselves on them in this home tie.

“We really enjoyed the two-legged format last year and even the gap between games was good because you could detach yourself from the result and it’s very similar this year.

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“This is going to be a tough challenge; they are the hardest team to play over two legs in this country.”

And after Howe’s warning, Guardiola admitted he had just as many reservations about coming up against Newcastle.

The Spaniard said: “I didn’t sleep last night thinking about how my genius can come up with a plan for Eddie Howe.

“Many years since Eddie Howe took over, look how many games they have won in the last minute – the push from the crowd. It’s always been like that for a long time. In that stadium is special.

“The semi-finals, playing Arsenal and Chelsea, it would be as difficult as Newcastle is. I don’t think it should be any different.”