Eddie Howe names strong side as Newcastle United hope to use home advantage to take first-leg lead against Manchester City in EFL Cup semi-final

Newcastle United and Manchester City are about to face off in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at St James' Park. The game gets underway at 8 pm and is live on Sky Sports and ITV.

The Magpies will be desperate to give themselves a cushion to take down to the Etihad next month, given their abysmal record at that ground.

Both managers have plenty of wounded amongst their ranks, making team selection tricky, but both also want to win with a place at Wembley at stake.

Eddie Howe has gone as strong as possible with his lineup, with many players involved tonight, also having taken part in the last two epic fixtures that tested the limits of each player's stamina.

Yoane Wissa gets the nod ahead of Nick Woltemade

Our predicted lineup was close to what Eddie Howe has gone with. Sandro Tonali has indeed dropped out, with Jacob Ramsey coming in alongside Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes.

Up front is where we got things the most wrong, however, with Harvey Barnes being replaced by Jacob Murphy. We understand that, though Barnes may be our most in-form player, however, he must be absolutely knackered.

Howe opted to go with Yoane Wissa over Nick Woltemade. It seems that Howe has a lot of confidence that Wissa's recovery is going well, as he seems to be getting the nod ahead of the German regularly these days.

Pep Guardiola has gone very strong too

Nick Pope comes back in between the sticks, too, which suggests that Eddie Howe is taking things very seriously and wants his number 1 in net.

Speaking of goalkeepers, James Trafford is given the nod to start tonight by Pep Guardiola, who has named a very strong side that includes new signing Antoine Semenyo.

Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku all start for City, too.

This is going to be some test for the Magpies, but to be the best, you've got to beat the best!

HOWAY EDDIE HOWE'S HOME ADVANTAGE MAGS!!