Manchester City are seeking to keep their faint quadruple dreams alive on Saturday night when they visit Newcastle United in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Despite their midweek gaffe at home to Nottingham Forest, Pep Guardiola’s men remain in the hunt for the Premier League title, while also having reached the Carabao Cup final. Their Champions League adventure continues next week, the Citizens traveling to Real Madrid in their last 16 first leg.
The action is coming thick and fast for City, but thankfully Guardiola boasts one of the richest squads around. The Spaniard is likely to lean on his depth at St James’ Park for a fifth meeting with Newcastle this season.
Doubts Remain Over Nico O’Reilly
Erling Haaland shrugged off his injury concerns to feature in the midweek draw against Forest but Nico O’Reilly missed out after hurting his ankle in last weekend’s narrow win over Leeds United. The Englishman “feels better,” Guardiola revealed on Friday, but he remains a doubt for the trip to Tyneside.
Max Alleyne is another who could miss out having come off injured in the fourth round win over Salford City, but there is no chance of Joško Gvardiol or Mateo Kovačic being involved as they recover from long-term setbacks.
Guardiola is expected to rotate given City’s congested schedule leading up to the March international break. The likes of Abdukodir Khusanov, John Stones, Tijjani Reijnders and Omar Marmoush could come into the team as a result.
- ⚠️ Key absentees, doubts: Joško Gvardiol, Mateo Kovačić, Max Alleyne, Nico O’Reilly.
- 🔢 Predicted formation: 4-3-3
Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Newcastle (4-3-3)
GK: James Trafford—Suffocating in Gianluigi Donnarumma’s enormous shadow, Trafford must relish these rare opportunities to start between the posts.
RB: Abdukodir Khusanov—Rico Lewis’s stock has plummeted this season—well, in Guardiola’s eyes at least—and it appears likely that Khusanov will be Matheus Nunes’s replacement at Newcastle.
CB: John Stones—Stones made his return from a lengthy absence in the fourth round and should make his first appearance since the Salford City victory on Saturday night.
CB: Nathan Aké—Marc Guéhi has been terrific since arriving in the winter and Guardiola will be eager to protect the Englishman with an abundance of matches on the horizon. Aké could earn a rare start as a result.
LB: Rayan Aït-Nouri—The injury to Gvardiol and potential absence of O’Reilly limits Guardiola’s rotation options at left back up against Newcastle’s band of speedy wingers.
CM: Bernardo Silva—The City stalwart remains an essential cog in the machine and Guardiola seldom opts to bench the Portugal international.
CM: Nico González—Rodri’s return has boosted City’s push for silverware but González is a solid deputy. The Spaniard will be tested by a combative Newcastle midfield on Saturday.
CM: Tijjani Reijnders—Having enjoyed a blistering start to his City career, Reijnders has been relegated to bench duty over recent months. He’s still managed six goals since the start of December, one of which came against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup.
RW: Antoine Semenyo—Given the sensational goalscoring form of Semenyo, another transformative winter addition, Guardiola can ill-afford to drop him at St James’ Park.
ST: Omar Marmoush—Marmoush has a strong goals-to-minute ratio since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations and should take the burden off Haaland this weekend.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City XI vs. Newcastle: Guardiola Rotates for FA Cup—Injury News, Predicted Lineup.
