Newcastle United in the FA Cup: What Magpies must do to end 71-year title drought

Newcastle United are gearing up for Saturday night’s blockbuster FA Cup fifth-round clash against Manchester City at St. James’ Park.

Newcastle reached the fifth round after claiming a comfortable 3-1 win over Aston Villa in Birmingham.

The Magpies came from behind to secure victory as a brace from Sandro Tonali and a late Nick Woltemade goal cancelled out an early Tammy Abraham strike.

That victory set up a fifth rematch with Man City, and Eddie Howe’s side will be determined to snap an ongoing three-match losing streak against the Cityzens.

Man City also reached this round after picking up a comfortable 2-0 victory over League Two side Salford City. Alfie Dorrington’s sixth-minute own goal set the tone for the rest of the match.

However, while spectators expected the Cityzens to run riot again following their astonishing 10-1 victory over League One side Exeter City, they didn’t get a second goal until Marc Guehi’s 81st-minute strike.

Newcastle United’s FA Cup record

Newcastle are joint fifth in the FA Cup all-time winners list, having won the title six times (level with Championship side Blackburn Rovers).

They also have plenty of experience in the tournament, having reached the FA Cup final an impressive 13 times (level with Premier League rivals Everton).

Only five of the clubs in the traditional “Big Six” have reached more FA Cup finals than Newcastle (Manchester United – 22, Arsenal – 21, Chelsea – 16, Liverpool – 15, and Man City – 14).

However, Newcastle have finished as runners up seven times (level with Arsenal, Liverpool, and Man City), placing them joint-third among silver medalists.

Only Man United (9), Chelsea (8), and Everton (8) have fallen short in the FA Cup final more times than the Magpies in the history of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Newcastle haven’t reached the FA Cup final since 1999 when they lost 2-0 to Sir Alex Ferguson’s treble-winning Man United side courtesy of goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes.

Recent history vs Man City

Astonishingly, this will be the fifth time Newcastle will lock horns with Man City this season.

Both sides have gone head-to-head in the EFL Cup semi-final, with Man City claiming a ruthless 5-1 aggregate victory to set up a blockbuster date with Arsenal in the showpiece at Wembley Stadium.

That tie was sandwiched between home and away Premier League games, with each side claiming a 2-1 win on their own turf.

That 2-1 Premier League win is Newcastle’s only success against Man City across their last eight meetings in all competitions since the Magpies claimed a shocking 1-0 win in the third round of the 2023 EFL Cup.

Man City have been a thorn in Newcastle’s flesh since Pep Guardiola’s arrival in 2016, although their miserable record against the 2023 treble winners stretches far beyond the Spaniard’s appointment.

Newcastle will enter this contest hoping to buck yet another losing trend against Man City, having lost their last two FA Cup meetings with the Cityzens by a 2-0 scoreline each time.

What Newcastle need to win

Getting past Man City will undoubtedly bolster Newcastle’s prospects of winning the FA Cup title for the first time in over seven decades.

Man City have hardly been the indomitable powerhouse they were in previous seasons.

However, it speaks volumes that they’ve been able to maintain their stranglehold on Newcastle even without being at their sparkling best.

Newcastle manager Howe will need to channel the winning formula he used in the previous Premier League and EFL Cup wins over Man City.

While the Cityzens haven’t tasted defeat in their last 10 games across all competitions, their relentless push to reclaim the Premier League title could give Newcastle an edge at St. James’ Park.

If they find a way past Man City, it’ll be a massive morale boost for the Magpies and could fuel their title challenge for the rest of the tournament.