Magpies' Howe has plans in place to hurt City

Ahead of their League Cup semifinal, first-leg clash at St James' Park on Jan 13, Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe described opponents Manchester City as "the hardest team in the country to play over two legs".

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En route to the title last season, his side saw off Arsenal 4-0 on aggregate before dispatching eventual English Premier League champions Liverpool at Wembley.

The semifinals of the Cup are a two-legged affair, with the show piece a one-off occasion at England's national stadium.

The Magpies host City on Tyneside on Jan 13 before travelling to Manchester for the return leg at the Etihad Stadium on Feb 4.

Howe said on Jan 12: "The natural preference is for the home game to be the second leg, but it's not like that this time. We need to use the home crowd to our advantage in the first game to try and impose ourselves on the tie.

"We really enjoyed the two-legged semifinal last year, but this is going to be a totally different challenge. Man City are the hardest team in the country to play over two legs. We will have to be at our best to get through.