Newcastle United news: Barcelona will be without two key figures when they travel to face Newcastle United at St James’ Park in the Champions League next week.
Newcastle United’s Champions League campaign gets underway on Thursday 18 September when reigning La Liga champions Barcelona travel to St James’ Park. That game takes place 28 years and one day after their famous meeting during the group stages of the 1997/98 competition.
That day will forever be remembered on Tyneside by Tino Asprilla’s hat-trick as the Magpies, then under the management of Kenny Dalglish, ran-out 3-2 winners against the Spanish giants. A repeat of that performance and result next week will create yet another memorable European night at St James’ Park.
A reformatted competition and league stage means that Eddie Howe’s side have four home games to play with Barcelona, their first opponents, their most difficult test at home. Benfica, Athletic Club and PSV Eindhoven will also come to Tyneside in the league stage.
Barcelona duo to miss Newcastle United clash
When Howe and his side enter the St James’ Park pitch next week, they will line-up across from last season’s Champions League semi-finalists. However, Barcelona will be without manager Hansi Flick and his assistant Marcus Sorg in the dugout on Thursday with the pair set to serve a one-match ban on Tyneside.
Flick and Sorg will serve a one-match ban that has been carried over from last season. The pair were handed a one-match ban by UEFA for misconduct after Barcelona’s semi-final second-leg defeat against Inter Milan in May.
Flick was angered by several decisions that he felt went against his side at the San Siro and was fined €20,000. Sorg was also forced to pay a €20,000 fine following that match by UEFA.
So far this season, with both Flick and Sorg in the dugout, Barcelona have won two and drawn one of their opening three La Liga matches. Those three games, though, have all been played away from home as the renovations on the Camp Nou edge closer to completion.
Barcelona will return to their home ground following the international break with Valencia their opponents on Sunday 14 September. Their trip to St James’ Park comes four days after that match, with their first Champions League game on home turf to be played against defending champions PSG on October 1.
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Newcastle United, meanwhile, will also play PSG in the league phase of the Champions League and will end their eight-match league campaign with a trip to the Parc des Princes. The Magpies took four points off PSG during their matches in the 2023/24 Champions League group stage.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have faced off against Newcastle United on four occasions in the Champions League and enjoy a very good record against the Magpies. Other than the aforementioned 3-2 game at St James’ Park in 1997, Barcelona have emerged victorious in all three of their other meetings.
The most recent of those games did take over 22 years ago, though, when goals from Thiago Motta and future Magpies striker Patrick Kluivert earned Barcelona a 2-0 win at St James’ Park on 19 March 2003.