So which City will turn up to face the Magpies?
I KNOW what it is like, I really do. The crushing disappointment of having your dreams ripped from your grasp.
I lost two FA Cup finals at Wembley, one with Newcastle United and the other with Arsenal.
I was gutted but we did nothave to play again immediately. We had time to get over it. ,
The Wembley showpiece was the last game of the season.
However, Manchester City must recover immediately from the savage disappointment of losing their Champions League semi-final to Real Madrid.
It is not just losing but the manner of defeat. One minute they were in the Paris final, the next they were not. Believe me, that takes some getting over.
Consequently, I simply don’t know what Newcastle will be facing tomorrow teatime.
City will either be brilliant, fighting to save their season by winning the Premier League title again and determined to show the world they are a great side.
Or they will be so wounded they will be in the depths of despair.
It is very difficult for Eddie Howe because he doesn’t know which City side he will confront. Does he prepare for a sky blue onslaught or to take advantage of a once confident team now riddled with doubt?
If City had beaten Real over two legs then you would at least have known you were to be confronted by swaggering superstars!
All I can think ist this is the best time to be playing City because you have a genuine chance.
The pressure on them will be immense after what happened in the Bernabeu and it could be heightened even further by kick off time if Liverpool have beaten Spurs to jump two points in front of their bitter rivals.
Nothing but victory over United will do whereas frankly a draw is a victory for the Magpies. A point would be a magnificent return.
It is amazing how football suddenly changes.
Pep Guardiola has long been viewed as a coaching genius but all of a sudden he is the manager who was brought in with the sole task of winning the Champions League and has failed to do so over six seasons.
Other City managers have won the Premier League title, his detractors point out.
Then there is the case of Kevin De Bruyne. He is a midfield maestro who has just finished runner-up to Mo Salah as Footballer of the Year but after Madrid it has been suggested he does not turn up for the really big games.
Honestly, City and individuals have not turned bad overnight, but they have t a problem. So have Newcastle.
Allan Saint-maximin has put the cat among the pigeons in an interview with a French magazine where he stated he has no reason to be jealous of Sadio Mane and if he had a striker who could convert efficiently he would have “15 to 20 assists to his name.”
Ouch! Chris Wood and Callum Wilson will have been delighted to read that while Eddie Howe, who puts so much emphasis on togetherness, will privately be well sickened.
Of course, United’s manager went into damage limitation mode at his weekly press conference as he must to dowse down any flames - but it is just what he didn’t need before a big game.
Howe tried to defend his star by saying the remarks were “taken out of context” and not meant to offend.
I am not certain how they could be out of context and they will have offended United’s forward players.
They would certainly have offended me in my day.
What is amazing from my point of view is how good Saint-maximin thinks he is and how good he really is. All the talk about winning the Ballon d’or and the like.
Saint-maximin should look at his goalscoring record, look at his number of assists, realise he hasn’t a single cap for his country as yet and remember what his old manager at Nice Patrick Vieira once said.
Vieira went on record saying ASM thought talent alone was enough to make him a top player without having to work on particular aspects of his game -and Vieira was worldclass as a player so he knows what he is talking about.
Of course, Saint-maximin is talented but he needs to make that breakthrough step and make it now.
He owes his team-mates big time and he should look to repay them tomorrow at Manchester City.