Preview: Newcastle vs. Manchester City – Team news and prediction

Newcastle enters this match with great confidence after demolishing Sheffield United 8-0, a much-needed victory for the Magpies following a mixed start to the Premier League season. They have 3 wins and 3 losses, totaling 9 points, which is 9 points less than Manchester City, who are currently in top form with a perfect record. City most recently secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, despite Rodri receiving a red card just after halftime.

Eddie Howe is taking the EFL Cup seriously in his pursuit of a trophy, as evidenced by their run to the final last season. On the other hand, Pep Guardiola is expected to rest some players due to the strength of their squad, ensuring that quality replacements will step in. Guardiola and Manchester City are not weary of winning trophies, so they will be aiming for victory as well.

Last five meetings between Newcastle vs. Man City: 
1-0: Man City vs. Newcastle
2-0: Man City vs. Newcastle
3-3: Newcastle vs. Man City
5-0: Man City vs. Newcastle
0-4: Newcastle vs. Man City 

It's challenging to see who can halt the Manchester City machine; they win every game they play in a dominant fashion. Newcastle, with the support of St. James' Park in a cup match, might be what's needed to put City under pressure, especially considering that Newcastle appears to be finding their form from last season.

Team news: 
Harvey Barnes had to come off in the match against Sheffield United the other day, and he joins Joelinton, Emil Krafth, and Joe Willock on the injury list. Tonali and Gordon started on the bench in the last game, but both are expected to be in the starting lineup again. The question remains whether it will be Alexander Isak or Callum Wilson starting; in the weekend match, it was Wilson, so it seems likely that Isak will get the chance in tonight's game.

De Bruyne, Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, and John Stones are all out with injuries, while Rodri is suspended, which is why Kalvin Phillips is expected to get a chance alongside Nunes in tonight's match. Rico Lewis and Gomes are expected to feature as full backs, while Ortega will be in goal for the English cup games. Grealish is back and is likely to start to get some minutes on the pitch, which would relegate Doku to the bench.

Newcastle expected lineup:
Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Tonali; Murphy, Isak, Gordon.

Manchester City expected lineup: 
Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gomes; Nunes, Phillips; Foden, Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland. 

Prediction: 
We believe there will be goals in this match. Manchester City aims to dominate games, but with the absences they have in central midfield, we think it could be a match played on Newcastle's terms, which tends to be hectic. Newcastle's recent 8-0 victory shows their attacking intent from the start, and it will be interesting to see if City can withstand this pressure. We expect a fast-paced game with back-and-forth action, making it a high-scoring match. Therefore, we predict over 3.5 goals at odds of 2.62.