The match is scheduled for Tuesday evening at St James’ Park, with City seeking a strong first-leg result despite their injury issues.
City come into the semi-final on the back of their first victory of 2026, having thrashed League One side Exeter City 10-0 in the FA Cup.
That emphatic win secured their place in the fourth round and provided a morale boost after a difficult league run that saw Guardiola’s side draw three consecutive Premier League matches against Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton.
However, defensive problems persist. City suffered a double injury setback in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea earlier this month, with Josko Gvardiol sustaining a tibial fracture in his right leg and Ruben Dias picking up a hamstring injury.
Both defenders are expected to be unavailable for the foreseeable future. Mateo Kovacic, John Stones and Oscar Bobb have also been sidelined in recent weeks.
In response, City recalled 20-year-old academy graduate Max Alleyne from his loan spell at Watford. Alleyne has already featured against Brighton and Exeter and is in contention to face Newcastle.
“We’ll see after training,” said Guardiola.
“We have some players with niggles and we’ll see how they feel this afternoon. We’re going to take a decision, no risks for the players to get injured again.”
