Pep Guardiola has cast doubt on Rayan Cherki’s fitness ahead of their Carabao Cup semi-final with Newcastle.
The Toon face a major uphill task to retain their title and need to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit at the Etihad on Wednesday night.
A Wembley clash against Arsenal awaits after Kai Havertz ensured their passage into the final on Tuesday.
The odds in the best betting markets for Manchester City vs Newcastle emphasise the job at hand for Eddie Howe’s men, but they may be boosted following Guardiola’s comments.
Manchester City Team News Vs Newcastle
Guardiola revealed the club are sweating on the fitness of Cherki after picking up a knock in the draw against Tottenham at the weekend.
The 22-year-old has been a mainstay in the City side this season following his summer move, having scored three and assisted seven in 19 league games.
He’s also scored in each of his EFL Cup appearances, including in the reverse fixture at St James’ Park.
Guardiola remained relatively tight-lipped on the chances of him featuring and said: “Rayan had a knock and we will see today how he feels.”
The Spaniard did confirm that defender Ruben Dias is making a timely return, with Marc Guehi missing out due to being cup-tied.
Jeremy Doku misses out, while Josko Gvardiol, John Stones, Savinho and Mateo Kovacic are all long-term injuries.
He added: “Ruben started to train yesterday but Jeremy not [ready] yet.”
Newcastle Team News Vs Manchester City
Howe faces a midfield dilemma ahead of the trip to the Etihad, with Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes set to miss out.
Guimaraes has missed the last three matches with an ankle injury, but Newcastle hope to have him fit for the visit of Brentford at the weekend.
Newcastle will also be without Lewis Miley due to a knee injury but Sven Botman is set to return.
Howe said: “Yeah, Bruno’s doing well. I don’t think he’ll make this game, but there’s a chance for the weekend. Sven Botman’s okay. Lewis, I’m not sure he’ll make this game either.”
The Newcastle manager was asked about the lack of transfer activity at the club during the January transfer window as they failed to sign a player despite fighting on four fronts.
He said: “Every decision we make has a long-term implication, so there’s no guarantee even signing someone with the funds that we had available would help us short-term anyway. So it is what it is.
“We’ve been used to working in these conditions now for a while. I think we’ve only been active in one transfer window out of the last four or five, so I think we’re under financial restrictions. We have to be really, really smart and we’ve decided to wait till the summer.”
