Newcastle United have reason to believe they can beat Barcelona in Thursday night’s huge Champions League clash.
Newcastle United vs Barcelona comes almost 28 years to the day after Tino Asprilla’s famous hat-trick saw the Magpies beat the Catalan giants at St James’ Park.
It is also Newcastle’s first Champions League game in almost two years, and Eddie Howe’s side are set for quite the return to the big stage.
Barcelona’s recent form has been very impressive, and they warmed up for their trip to Tyneside with a 6-0 win over Valencia on Sunday.
Hansi Flick’s side are no doubt a brilliant team but Newcastle can be confident. With that in mind, Geordie Boot Boys argues three reasons why they can beat Barcelona and make a statement return to Europe’s elite club competition.
Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring for Barcelona against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
Photo by Guillermo Martinez/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Barcelona are missing Lamine Yamal
Lamine Yamal won’t play for Barcelona against Newcastle United due to a groin injury, robbing Flick of perhaps his star player.
Clearly, the Barca squad is dripping with quality and the likes of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski can pose all kinds of problems.
However, to not have arguably the best player in the world available is a blow, there’s little doubt about it.
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The 18-year-old is a game-changer and while it would be nice to see him strut his stuff on Tyneside, the fact he’s missing the tie does make Newcastle’s life slightly easier.
Newcastle United’s home record
Under Howe, Newcastle have proven they can beat anyone while they’re playing at home.
Paris Saint-Germain couldn’t deal with the atmosphere at St James’ in 2023 and there’s little to suggest the stadium will be quieter than on that famous night.
Newcastle United fans display a banner reading: 'nothing is achieved alone. we are a city. a whole population. we are Newcastle United'
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
With confidence renewed following Saturday’s Premier League win over Wolves, the supporters are going to be in a wild mood.
Barcelona know all about Newcastle’s famous atmosphere and it will be up to them to deal with it. That’s not to say they absolutely cannot but PSG have proven that even the best teams can fall in the face of it.
Newcastle United’s defensive record
For all the talk of Nick Woltemade following his debut goal on Saturday, Newcastle’s brilliant defence is surely the key to this game.
It seems unlikely that Newcastle can outscore Barcelona but they could shut them out.
Howe could of course change system to deny Barcelona but, this season, the defensive options that have been in the squad for a while continue to impress.
Dan Burn celebrates after William Osula scores for Newcastle United against Liverpool.
Photo by Michelle Mercer/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Tino Livramento remain as defensively resolute as ever.
In three of their four Premier League games so far this season, they’ve kept a clean sheet.
They’ll need to be at their very best on Thursday of course but there’s still life in the old guard yet.