“At the end, we are rivals” – Pep Guardiola explains not having dinner with two Premier League managers

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted that he has not gotten to know Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe over dinner during his time in England.

Guardiola will come up against Howe for the fifth time this season when Manchester City travel to St. James’ Park for their FA Cup fifth round tie on Saturday night.

The Blues saw their winning streak in all competitions halt at six games in midweek as goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson helped Nottingham Forest dent Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes with a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

City remain in the running for an unprecedented quadruple in the closing months of the season as they prepare for FA Cup and UEFA Champions League Round of 16 commitments against Newcastle United and Real Madrid respectively in the coming week – before their next Premier League fixture against West Ham on March 14.

Pep Guardiola press conference: Will Nico O’Reilly start FA Cup fifth round tie against Newcastle United?

Manchester City have beaten Newcastle United thrice in their four encounters so far this season, recently in the Premier League when Nico O’Reilly netted a brace in a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium – as well as home and away in their Carabao Cup semi-final tie.

In a press conference on Friday afternoon, Guardiola was asked for his thoughts on the threat posed by the Magpies and whether a sense of familiarity about their upcoming opponents can help Manchester City this weekend.

“We know each other quite well,” Guardiola said. On his relationship with Howe, the Manchester City head coach added: “Yeah, really good! Never dinner together but really good.

“Never dinner with Daniel (Farke, Leeds United manager) either. But a good relation, yeah. At the end, we are rivals, we have to play each other, but before and after the game – it’s completely different.”

City are fighting for silverware on four fronts and will play five times in the next fortnight across all competitions as they look to improve upon a disappointing, trophyless 2024-25 season that triggered last summer’s squad revamp.

Guardiola has conceded that playing in Newcastle on Saturday night will inevitably have a detrimental impact on City’s preparation for their upcoming trip to Madrid for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.

“Playing at night, we’ll travel (to Newcastle) tomorrow; advantage. The disadvantage is recovery for Madrid, it will be less,” Guardiola said.

Guardiola is expected to shuffle his pack against Newcastle United on Saturday night to rest his most important players for the Santiago Bernabeu, with a late fitness test awaiting Nico O’Reilly – who missed the midweek draw against Nottingham Forest.

Real Madrid hit by Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham fitness blow ahead of Manchester City showdown

Guardiola is known for wanting to win everything in sight and in particular, for giving the FA Cup and Carabao Cup the respect they warrant, ever since he took charge of Manchester City in the summer of 2016.

On the importance of the FA Cup , the 55-year-old said: “How many finals have we played in the last years? How many semi-finals have we played in the last years? A lot.

“That means the FA Cup is always so important. We’re going to travel to Newcastle to win to get to the next round – that’s definitely 100 percent.”

Tijjani Reijnders, Nathan Ake, John Stones, James Trafford, Rico Lewis, Nico Gonzalez, Savinho and Omar Marmoush are all expected to start for Manchester City in Tyneside this weekend as Guardiola and his coaching staff name a lineup with one eye on next week’s trip to Madrid.