Nunes has grown into his role as a right back at Manchester City, but still has moments of vulnerability, which the Magpies will look to exploit here. City committed 12 fouls on their trip to St James’ Park for the first leg, with Nunes committing one of those fouls and picking up a yellow card.

Nunes has committed 11 fouls across his 19 starts in the Premier League this season (0.56 per 90), which isn’t a record that is all too convincing in isolation - but becomes more appealing when considering his potential opponent and the manner in which Newcastle are likely to approach this contest.

Nunes should line up against Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall down the left-hand side for Newcastle, with the pair combining to win six fouls in the first leg meeting at St James’ Park. Those fouls account for 50% of the total fouls that Manchester City committed in Newcastle, so it’s clearly an area of the pitch where there is likely to be activity.

Anthony Gordon, in particular, will fancy his chances of taking on Nunes, as he did in the first leg encounter, with the winger winning 25 fouls across his 17 starts in the Premier League this season (1.83 per 90).

Lewis Hall has been sensational for Newcastle since returning from injury, and could play himself into Thomas Tuchel’s plans for the summer if he manages to stay fit and maintain this level of performance.

Hall was fouled four times in the first leg meeting, more than any other player on the pitch. He also created the most chances (three) and completed the most dribbles (three), suggesting that he is a key player for Eddie Howe at the moment, as he can be influential again here.

Hall has won 21 fouls across his 13 starts in the Premier League this term, working out to an average of 1.56 fouls won per 90. Manchester City committed 12 fouls at St James’ Park a few weeks ago, with Antoine Semenyo responsible for two of those infringements.

Semenyo is expected to be Hall’s opponent again here, so we can expect the two to renew hostilitie,s which can see Hall fouled again in this clash.

Nick Pope is expected to be a very busy man on Wednesday evening, with the Newcastle keeper routinely called into action by the elite sides in the country. Pope was forced to make three saves against Liverpool last time out as Newcastle fell to a 4-1 defeat against the Reds, and Newcastle’s shocking form at the Etihad suggests that he will be active again.

Pope has been forced into making 56 saves across his 18 appearances in the Premier League this season (3.14 per 90). He’s maintained a save percentage of 70.9% across those matches, which is a pretty solid record for a keeper that is being tested so frequently. He was forced into making two saves at St James’ Park last week, and may be dreading the trip to the North West with how poor Newcastle have been at the Etihad in recent history.

Newcastle’s only win at the Etihad across the last 15 years was a 2-0 triumph in the League Cup back in 2014. Newcastle have lost the 11 matches between the Etihad since then, without even scoring a goal. This tells us that Newcastle will be low on confidence, and probably won’t expect too much from this game with a two-goal deficit to overturn.

Pope was also active in Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Manchester City at St James’ Park in the Premier League earlier on in the season. He was forced into making three saves on that occasion, further suggesting that he will be required on at least three occasions.

Newcastle committed 10 fouls and picked up four yellow cards in the first leg meeting between the sides, and I can sense frustration coming to the fore here again for the Magpies, given the situation they find themselves in with a two-goal deficit to overturn at a stadium where they haven’t won since 2014.

Newcastle collected three yellow cards in their 4-1 defeat against Liverpool last time out, in another example of the Magpies struggling to deal with the atmosphere and pressure of playing in an iconic stadium. Eddie Howe’s side have collected 34 yellow cards across their 24 Premier League matches this term (1.41 per game).

This is a more modest record than you’d expect from a Newcastle side that is known for its physicality and aggression. That being said, this is the perfect scenario for Newcastle to grow impatient and become frustrated with the outcome - it is highly unlikely that Newcastle will be able to turn this tie around, so we could see a bit more petulance than usual from the Newcastle players.