Magpies face Pep Guardiola’s side in return leg with a 2-0 deficit
Newcastle coach Eddie Howe says his side need to “have belief” if they are to cause an upset and defeat Manchester City to make their way to the Carabao Cup final.
City defeated Newcastle 2-0 in the first leg at St James’ Park, meaning Newcastle will have to win by at least that margin to stand a chance.
The Magpies have prioritised winning another cup competition this season having had a taste of silverware by winning this same competition last term. Newcastle have also been very good in the Carabao Cup in recent years, having reached the semifinals three times over the last four seasons.
“It will be an almighty challenge,” said Howe about defeating City. “But we have to have belief. We have the talent.”
The club were unable to sign reinforcements in the transfer window even though injuries in defence meant they badly needed additional bodies.
“Financially, it wasn’t possible,” Howe said. “We are under financial restrictions and had a very limited amount of money available to use this window so we decided to wait until the summer when there’s a lot more players available for potentially better value.
“Our squad is OK. If it was a fully fit squad it would be really strong in some areas, but, of course, it’s not, so there’s a bit of an imbalance defensively.”
Newcastle have been fighting to break into the Premier League’s elite since being bought by Saudi Arabia’s investment fund in 2021. However, both the league’s financial restrictions and also the declining interest in England’s northeast have limited their ability to build a strong enough squad.
Indeed, it has been put to Howe that there were rumours one of his best players Sandro Tonali was interested in joining Arsenal this winter.
“I don’t think so, that would surprise me,” said Howe. “But lots of things happen without my knowledge. As far as I’m aware though we’ve got a player that’s an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person.
“Sandro’s very happy here. He’s got a great relationship with me and his teammates and he seems really, really, happy within himself. I don’t see an issue, but I’m not in control of everything. If I knew where everything [rumours] came from I’d be wiser. But Sandro is absolutely fine. I had discussions with him yesterday. His focus is on the here and now with us.
“There’s no issue with Sandro. He’s happy and committed. But our best players will always be attracting glances from other clubs – that’s just the reality of football.”
