Newcastle suffer major blow ahead of Man City Carabao Cup semi-final first leg

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Manchester City will face Newcastle United in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Newcastle United are set to be without Fabian Schar for the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester City next month. The Blues made it to the last four of the competition after beating Brentford 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Rayan Cherki and Savinho were both on the scoresheet for the Blues as they secured their place in the last four. The Magpies managed to bag their spot in the semi-finals thanks to Lewis Miley's late winner against Fulham.

City and Newcastle are now set to meet each other in a two-legged semi-final at the start of 2026. But the Magpies will be without Schar through suspension.

Schar will serve a one-match suspension after receiving a booking in the first half for pulling back Raul Jimenez. Having already been booked in the competition during the fourth round match against Spurs, EFL rules dictate that two yellow cards prior to the semi-final stage result in a one-match ban.

The slate is wiped clean for the semi-finals, so no one on yellow cards need worry about collecting more at this stage, but Schar will have to sit out the first leg. However, he will be available for the second game at the Etihad.

Unlike red cards, bookings don't cross over into other domestic competitions, so Schar is free to play the five Premier League games before the first leg, and their FA Cup third round tie with Bournemouth in January. Defence is currently a problem area for Newcastle.

They are already dealing with injuries to Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth. The Magpies' head coach also had to contend with left-back Lewis Hall missing the 2-1 victory due to a minor hamstring issue.

This led to Miley being drafted in as an emergency right-back last night, with the 19-year-old putting in a solid performance before scoring the decisive goal in the final moments. Newcastle are expecting some players to return from injury in 2026, with Botman, Trippier and Krafth all hopeful of making a comeback in the coming weeks.

However, Burn is set for a longer spell on the sidelines after suffering rib damage and a punctured lung against Sunderland. The first leg will take place the week commencing January 12, with the second leg played in the week starting February 3, with the final at Wembley on March 22, 2026.

Chelsea will face the winner of Arsenal vs Crystal Palace in the other semi-final, with the last quarter-final played on Tuesday, December 23 due to Palace's Europa Conference League commitments.