Rayan Ait-Nouri, Manchester City's left-back, might feature in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Newcastle United. The match is scheduled for Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at St. James' Park.
Ait-Nouri's potential return comes after his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) concluded on Saturday. Following Algeria's exit from AFCON, the 24-year-old has returned to Manchester. However, his journey back was complicated by a missed flight connection, causing a delay in his arrival.
City manager Pep Guardiola stated that Ait-Nouri would be assessed in training before a decision is made about his inclusion in the squad. Guardiola emphasized that the club would not take any unnecessary risks with players who might be susceptible to injury. "We will see after training. We have some players with niggles and we will see how they feel," Guardiola said. "Rayan Ait-Nouri has come back from AFCON but unfortunately lost the connection so arrived a little bit late. We will see in the training sessions how he feels and don't want to take risks of players getting injured again".
Ait-Nouri is still in the process of establishing himself at Manchester City, after joining from Wolves last summer. His return could provide valuable flexibility for Guardiola, especially given the ongoing injury issues within the squad. Several key players are currently sidelined, including John Stones, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Savinho and Oscar Bobb. Forward Omar Marmoush remains at AFCON with Egypt.
Guardiola is anticipating a challenging match against Newcastle, who are the current holders of the Carabao Cup. He acknowledged Newcastle's impressive record under Eddie Howe, highlighting their resilience and the strong support they receive from their home crowd. "Since Eddie Howe took over, so many years now, look how many games they won in the last minutes," Guardiola said. "The pride is there, the crowd pushes. It has always been like that, for a long time, in this stadium. It's special".
Manchester City beat Brentford 2-0 to secure their place in the semi-final. Goals came from Rayan Cherki and Savinho. Newcastle reached the semi-finals after a 2-1 victory over Fulham. The first leg of the semi-final is scheduled to commence the week of January 12, 2026, at St James' Park, with the return leg at the Etihad Stadium the week of February 2, 2026.
In other team news, new signing Antoine Semenyo could also feature in the game against Newcastle. A change to the Carabao Cup rules means that Semenyo is eligible to play despite having previously represented Bournemouth in the competition this season.
