Newcastle have repeatedly struck in stoppage time this season. Anthony Gordon’s added-time penalty forced extra time in their FA Cup tie against Bournemouth on Saturday before they advanced on penalties, while two late goals helped them edge Leeds United 4-3 in the Premier League earlier in the week. In November, Harvey Barnes scored in the 70th minute to seal a 2-1 league victory over City.
“I’d love the semi-final to be one game. Since Eddie Howe took over, look how many games they have won in the last minutes. The pride is there, the crowd pushes,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of City’s trip to Newcastle for Tuesday’s first-leg clash.
With City currently second in the Premier League, six points behind leaders Arsenal, Guardiola said he would also be careful about player fitness in the cup match.
“Rayan Ait-Nouri has come back from the Africa Cup of Nations but unfortunately lost the connection so he arrived a little bit late. We’ll see in the training sessions how he feels and don’t want to take risks of players getting injured again,” he said.
