Eddie Howe's side begin their Champions League group stage campaign against Barcelona on Thursday night
Newcastle United get their Champions League campaign under way this week
Newcastle United get their Champions League campaign under way this week
Newcastle United couldn't have asked for a much tougher start to their Champions League campaign than a game against Spanish giants Barcelona this week - but Eddie Howe and Co will know that their hopes of progress do not rest on this one result.
The Magpies will go into Thursday night's showdown confident of springing a surprise and emerging with a positive outcome, but the reality is that Hansi Flick's side will be the favourites.
The Catalan side have had a strong start to their La Liga campaign and have a wealth of experience at Champions League level, but United will look to channel the spirit of their 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain two years ago to pull off a shock result.
However, the new-look Champions League tournament means United have a long way to go regardless of the result on Thursday night, with a huge opportunity to land a place in the play-off spots at the very least.
The 36-team league stage will see each side play eight matches, with the top eight in the table automatically going through to the first knock-out phase.
Sides finishing in ninth to 24th place will be drawn in a play-off, with the eight winners joining those already qualified to make up the round of 16.
The new format first came into play last season, and the final table will make for encouraging reading for Newcastle.
Club Brugge finished in 24th spot with just 11 points after picking up three wins and two draws from their eight games, finishing ahead of Dynamo Zagreb on goal difference.
If the table followed a similar pattern this season, four wins from United's eight games would give them a strong chance of making the play-offs at the very least.
Newcastle United's 2025-26 Champions League fixtures
Newcastle United's 2025-26 Champions League fixtures get under way this week
Even taking Barcelona out of the equation, that would be mean wins over Benfica, Bilbao and PSV at St James' Park would mean they may only need a few points from their away games at Union SG, Marseille, Leverkusen and PSG to be in with an excellent shout.
The game against Union in Belgium next month feels like a match Newcastle should be targetting for a maximum return, while they will not be daunted by their trips to France or Germany.
Without getting carried away, Aston Villa claimed the final automatic spot last season (eighth) with an impressive 16 points after five wins and a draw. At this stage, that shouldn't be out of United's grasp should things go to plan.
St James' Park will be electric on Thursday night, and their home form will be crucial for United's hopes of progressing further in this season's compeitition.
But should things not work out as Howe and Co hope this week, then there is no reason why they can't still have an excellent campaign.