Newcastle United latest news: Hansi Flick brings his Barcelona side to St James’ Park on Thursday night to kick-off their Champions League campaign.
Newcastle United’s Champions League campaign gets underway on Thursday night when Barcelona travel to St James’ Park. The Spanish champions reached the semi-final of last season’s competition and will be one of the toughest opponents that the Magpies will face this season.
Hansi Flick’s side will travel to Tyneside on the back of a 6-0 win against Valencia on Sunday - one they secured without the talents of superstar Lamine Yamal. The Catalan giants will start Thursday night as firm favourites, but Eddie Howe and his team will be hopeful of being able to cause an upset - just like they did against Paris Saint-Germain just-shy of two years ago.
Barcelona injury news v Newcastle United
Ahead of making the trip to England, Barcelona will be sweating on the fitness of key man Lamine Yamal after he missed their win over Valencia. The teenager played twice for Spain whilst on international duty earlier this month, despite already carrying a knock.
Spain defeated Turkey 6-0 and then Bulgaria 3-0 in comfortable victories for the reigning European champions - with Yamal playing 73 and 79 minutes respectively in those games. Luis de la Fuente’s use of Yamal in those games caught the wrath of Flick at the weekend as he bemoaned the amount of minutes that Yamal was exposed to whilst away with his country.
“Lamine will not be available [against Valencia] - it's a pity,” said Flick. "He played with the national team despite pain.
“He had problems, played 79 and 73 minutes, and didn't even train between matches because of this pain. That is not really taking care of the players, is it? It is not.
“Spain, they have the best team in the world, best players in the world. In every position they are unbelievably good.
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"So, maybe they will also want to take care of our players, our young players, but it's like they are doing this [to them]. This is what I can say and I'm really sad about this."
Reports from Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo have suggested that it will be ‘a miracle’ for Yamal to feature on Tyneside this week. Yamal did not feature in training with his teammates on Monday as they recovered from that comprehensive win over Valencia.
Newcastle United to replicate famous 1997 Barcelona night?
Whilst Flick will be desperate to have Yamal in his squad for their clash against Newcastle United, it is understood that Yamal is very unlikely to feature. Whilst that is a boost for the Magpies, Thursday night’s contest will be worse for not having one of Europe’s top talents gracing the St James’ Park turf.
Two years on from their last, and very brief, time in Europe, Tyneside is braced for what could be yet another memorable Champions League night. The prospect of playing Barcelona evokes a number of memories from European trips of old and possibly Newcastle United’s greatest night in the competition.
A win on Thursday will undoubtedly rival that famous night in 1997 and be one that is remembered for years to come.
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