Newcastle United will be without key midfielders Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley for Wednesday night’s EFL Cup semifinal second leg clash against Manchester City, although there is hope that Sven Botman could return to action.
The Magpies travel to the Etihad Stadium needing to overturn a two-goal deficit from the first leg and could be without two more players for the clash.
Club captain Guimaraes featured for 87 minutes in that encounter, but will miss the return leg after failing to recover in time from an ankle injury. The Brazilian has not played since picking up the issue during Newcastle’s 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last month and has already missed their last three matches across all competitions.
Eddie Howe confirmed in his pre-match conference on Tuesday that the 28-year-old will play no part in the second leg, as quoted on the club’s official website.
“Bruno is doing well but I don’t think he’ll make this game. There is a chance for the weekend.”
Teenage midfielder Miley is also unavailable due to a knee problem. The 19-year-old was an unused substitute in last Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Liverpool and is expected to make a return to action in the weekend’s Premier League clash against Brentford.
Injury problems continue to mount for the Magpies, who also have the likes of Joelinton, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth on the sidelines.
However, there is some positive news as defender Botman is set to return to action after missing the defeat to the Reds last weekend. The Dutch centre-back was left on the bench for that clash as a precaution after experiencing a minor thigh issue.
“Sven is OK. Lewis I’m not sure will make this game either.”
Newcastle head into Wednesday’s second leg tie hoping to produce a memorable comeback and keep their hopes of defending their EFL Cup title alive, with a potential clash against Arsenal or Chelsea in the final in March.
