Rayan Ait-Nouri could make Man City return in Carabao Cup semi-final

By Andy Hampson, Press Association

Rayan Ait-Nouri could return for Manchester City in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Newcastle on Tuesday.

The Algeria left-back is now back in Manchester after his involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations ended on Saturday.

The 24-year-old will be assessed in training but, after a return journey complicated by a missed flight connection, City will not take an unnecessary risk.

Ait-Nouri is still to establish himself at the Etihad Stadium following his move from Wolves last summer.

Manager Pep Guardiola said: “We will see after training. We have some players with niggles and we will see how they feel.

“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.”

Forward Omar Marmoush remains at the tournament in Morocco with Egypt.

John Stones, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Savinho and Oscar Bobb are out injured.

Pep 💬 (On squad fitness) We will see after training [today]. We have some players with niggles, so we will see how they feel tomorrow.

Rayan Ait-Nouri has come back from AFCON and missed a connection so was a little bit late. We will see how he feels. We will not take risks for… pic.twitter.com/vG8Ud2hVMj

— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 12, 2026

Guardiola is expecting a tough encounter against the cup holders at St James’ Park.

He said: “Since Eddie Howe took over, so many years now, look how many games they won in the last minutes.

“The pride is there, the crowd pushes. It has always been like that, for a long time, in this stadium. It’s special.

“They’ve done really well for many years. They won it last season and now here they are in the semi-finals again.

“But at the same time it is a semi-final and if we had to play against Arsenal or Chelsea it would be as difficult. It is an opportunity for a lot of us, and especially for a lot of new players, to reach a final.”

Another player available is new signing Antoine Semenyo, who made a goalscoring debut following his move from Bournemouth in the 10-1 FA Cup thrashing of Exeter on Saturday.

The winger is not cup-tied after the competition’s regulations were changed this season.

Guardiola said: “He’s a really nice guy, I’m really sure of that and in a few actions he showed (against Exeter) what he showed at Bournemouth and hopefully he can continue to do it here.”