Soccer
Manchester City and Newcastle meet in the second leg of their EFL Cup semifinal tie with the Citizens holding a 2-0 goal edge on aggregate. Man City slipped up in Premier League play on Sunday with a 2-2 draw against Tottenham, while Newcastle slipped to 11th in the standings after a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool. The Magpies are now eight points out of a top-4 spot and City’s pursuit of Arsenal hasn’t gained much traction, so this competition suddenly takes on more meaning with a trophy on the line.
Kickoff from Etihad Stadium in Manchester is set for 3 p.m. ET and soccer fans can stream the match on Paramount+. Manchester City are -130 favorites (wager $130 to win $100) in the latest Manchester City vs. Newcastle odds at DraftKings Sportsbook while Newcastle are +290 underdogs (wager $100 to win $290). A draw comes in at +290 and the total is 3.5 (Over +135, Under -175). Before making any wagers on Man City vs. Newcastle in this EFL Cup semifinal match, be sure to check out what SportsLine soccer expert Jon Eimer is playing.
Eimer finished 2023 as SportsLine’s No. 1 soccer expert, posting a 248-234-12 (+25.93 units) record on SportsLine article picks. Eimer has been red-hot in 2025, posting a profit in multiple leagues, including the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga and more. Anyone following his soccer betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Here are Eimer’s best bets and analysis for Man City vs. Newcastle on Wednesday, Feb. 4.
Soccer Manchester City vs. Newcastle best bets
- Manchester City money line (-125): 1 unit
- Man City to score in first 15 minutes (+300): 0.5 units
Man City are up 2-0 heading into this second leg
The EFL semifinal features Manchester City hosting Newcastle at Etihad Stadium in the second leg. It’s very important to remember this is a two leg competition, which means the result of the first leg does affect how teams will play in this second leg. The first leg saw Manchester City travel to St. James Park and win 2-0 on the road. That means that going into this second leg, City are already up 2-0 in aggregate scoring. If Man City were to lose 1-0 or 2-1 in this match, they’d still advance to the final. City doesn’t need to win this second leg to advance. This also means that Newcastle have to press like mad and try to overcome a multi-goal deficit. Newcastle can’t afford to sit back and play defense here.
Newcastle have a horrid history at Etihad Stadium
Newcastle will be desperate to find goals to try to catch up to the Citizens, who are already up two goals. While on paper they should be good enough to find goals with strikers like Aaron Gordon, Harvey Barnes and Nick Woltemade, we have to remember there’s a psychological edge in this matchup.
Newcastle have been terrible traveling to Manchester over the past few years. Newcastle have not scored, at all, in their last seven trips to Etihad stadium. All seven of those matches ended with Manchester City winning to nil. This might change as City’s defense has been a bit lackluster as of late but with Newcastle being forced to press, I expect City to score multiple times off a counterattack.
Read MoreChinmay Vaidya