Newcastle kick off their Champions League campaign with a glamour home game against Barca on Thursday night, with the tie pitting the Magpies against the reigning La Liga champions and five-time European Cup winners.
Howe’s side could hardly have been handed a tougher task as they return to European competition after a one-year absence, with the game evoking inevitable memories of the magical night on Tyneside in September 1997 when Tino Asprilla’s hat-trick saw Newcastle beat Barcelona 3-2.
Howe cannot wait to try to engineer his own Champions League upset, and is hoping to take inspiration from Sir Bobby Robson, who famously managed both Newcastle and Barcelona during his glittering managerial career.
“For me, it’s a magical game,” said Howe, who is embarking on his second Champions League campaign in charge of the Magpies. “It’s the type of game that you’re desperate to be a part of and desperate to hopefully represent the club really well in.
“That’s our challenge. Of course, there’s connections with Sir Bobby that we fully embrace. That’s what makes it such a special thing.”
Two seasons ago, Newcastle thrashed Paris St Germain 4-1 at a sizzling St James’ Park, with goals from Miguel Almiron, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff and Fabian Schar sweeping aside the French champions.
With the atmosphere on Thursday evening sure to be every bit as electric, Howe and his players will attempt to stage a repeat as they get their first experience of the Champions League’s new ‘league phase’ system.
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The Magpies have made a stuttering start to the current domestic campaign, although Saturday’s much-needed win over Wolves settled a few nerves and ensured the build-up to Thursday’s game would not be overshadowed by any Premier League worries.
“That’s why the win was so important,” said Howe. “There is no other noise apart from the [Barcelona] game now.
“I think if we hadn’t won, that wouldn’t have been the case. It would have been slightly negative going into what should be a really positive game. That all dissolves and we can really focus entirely on this one game now.”
While Newcastle were edging out Wolves thanks to a debut goal from record signing Nick Woltemade, Barcelona spent the weekend showcasing their formidable squad strength as they thrashed Valencia 6-0.
Fermin Lopez scored two goals from his attacking-midfield position, with Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski also weighing in with two goals apiece even though neither of them actually started the game.
Yamal was a key absentee from Sunday’s league win, and the teenage superstar is also a doubt for Thursday’s game after returning from international duty with Spain with a pubic problem.
Barcelona boss, Hansi Flick, was furious at the Spanish squad’s use of Yamal, with the 18-year-old having featured heavily in his national side’s comfortable victories over Bulgaria and Turkey despite needing painkillers to get through the games.
“He [Yamal] went off to play for Spain with some pain and did not train,” said Flick. “They gave him painkillers so he could play. They had at least a three-goal lead in both matches, and he still played 73 and 79 minutes. Between the games, he wasn’t able to train. That’s not looking after the player. I’m very sad about this.”
While Yamal has not been completely ruled out of Thursday’s game, he is regarded as extremely unlikely to feature at St James’.
That potentially makes life easier for Newcastle, although Howe admits there will be a tinge of disappointment if one of the world’s most exciting players is not involved on Tyneside.
“Whenever I get asked these types of questions my answer’s always the same – you want to play the best teams, you want to play against the best players and you want to challenge yourselves as much as you can,” said Howe.
“In saying that, we also want to win. We’ll take whoever they play. We know they’ve got world-class players in every position, so it’s irrelevant to a degree who is out there.”
Newcastle will be missing Yoane Wissa on Thursday, with the deadline-day signing having suffered a knee injury that is expected to keep him on the sidelines until the end of the next international break, but Anthny Gordon will be available as his suspension for the red card he received in the defeat to Liverpool does not apply to European competitions.