Newcastle United have a shot at defending their Carabao Cup title as they welcome Manchester City to St. James’ Park for the first leg of the semi-final on Tuesday night.

Last season, the Magpies finally broke their 70-year trophy drought, taking down Liverpool 2–1 at Wembley. Now, Eddie Howe’s squad are riding a four-game unbeaten streak since they lost 1–0 to Manchester United in December. That run includes wins over Burnley, Crystal Palace, and Leeds United in the Premier League.

They come into this game on the back of a wild FA Cup third-round win, squeezing past Bournemouth 7–6 on penalties. The mood around the club is buzzing, but Howe knows City won’t make it easy. He’s counting on the home crowd to make a difference.

“Everyone wants the home leg second, so you know exactly what you need, and you’ve got the fans behind you,” Howe said. “We don’t have that luxury this time. We need to use the home crowd from the start and give everything to set the tone.”

Newcastle are chasing a fifth straight home win. Howe likes the two-leg format of the semi-final, even if the challenge feels huge.

“We enjoyed the format last year, and the break between the games helped us reset,” he said. “It’s the same this time.

“This is a real test. City is the hardest team to face over two legs in England.

“They always adjust their tactics, even when they’re missing players. But we’re focused on ourselves—what we can do to hurt them.”

Newcastle are missing Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Fabian Schär, Jamaal Lascelles, and William Osula with injuries. Anthony Elanga is still a doubt.

On the other side, Manchester City arrive unbeaten in their last 12 games since their 2–0 Champions League loss to Bayer Leverkusen in December. Pep Guardiola’s team are flying high after smashing Exeter City 10–1 in the FA Cup third round. Still, their last trip to St. James’ Park ended in a 2–1 league loss back in November.

Guardiola expects another tough night.

“Since Eddie Howe arrived, Newcastle has been a nightmare to play against,” Guardiola said. “They win so many games late on, the crowd gets loud, and the stadium’s intense. It’s been like this for a while, and honestly, if we’d drawn Arsenal, it would be just as tough.”

City will be without Rúben Dias, Joško Gvardiol, John Stones, and Savinho due to injuries.

Aaron Ramsdale stole the show for Newcastle, dragging them past Bournemouth into the FA Cup fourth round after a nerve-wracking penalty shoot-out. On loan from Southampton, Ramsdale pulled off saves from Evanilson, Alex Jimenez, and Bafode Diakite, sealing a wild 7-6 win after 120 minutes of end-to-end football on a freezing Tyneside afternoon that ended 3-3.

Just when Newcastle thought they’d wrapped it up—Harvey Barnes had nodded them ahead deep into extra time—Marcus Tavernier broke their hearts with an equaliser in the dying seconds to send the tie to penalties.

It was a rollercoaster. Barnes put the hosts ahead, but Bournemouth hit back fast, with Alex Scott and David Brooks flipping the score to 2-1. Anthony Gordon pulled Newcastle level late on from the spot.

Both managers rotated heavily, but Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi—one of the few regulars—came close early, smashing a fifth-minute shot straight at Ramsdale after chasing down Enes Unal’s knockdown.

Newcastle could’ve struck first just two minutes later. Djordje Petrovic stretched to keep out Yoane Wissa’s curling effort after Nick Woltemade set him up with a clever flick from Barnes.

After that, things slowed down. Ramsdale dealt with another Kroupi shot on the half-hour after substitute Evanilson, who’d come on for the injured Unal, played him in. The game drifted as Bournemouth started to find its feet.

Sandro Tonali fired wide from a distance, and Scott’s shot from a tight angle was blocked before halftime, with neither side really threatening.

That changed right after the break. Barnes played in Woltemade, sprinted into the box for the return pass, and coolly slotted past the onrushing Petrovic.

Bournemouth almost hit back immediately. Tino Livramento’s risky ball across his own box landed at Evanilson’s feet, but Ramsdale bailed him out.

Evanilson did have the ball in the net after Ramsdale spilt Kroupi’s rocket, but he was offside. Then Sven Botman nearly doubled Newcastle’s lead, his header clanging off the underside of the bar.

Bournemouth didn’t waste their next chance. Evanilson and Brooks combined, and Scott tapped home at the far post. Moments later, Brooks pounced on a rebound and curled a brilliant shot past Ramsdale to put Bournemouth in front.

Petrovic twice kept Gordon out, the second stop a real stunner, but then brought down Tonali to give away a penalty. Gordon smashed it home in added time.

Barnes looked like the hero when he powered in Gordon’s cross in extra time, but Tavernier popped up with the sixth goal of the game to send it to penalties. And after all the drama, Ramsdale had the final say.