NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 17: Jamaal Lascelles and Kieran Trippier of Newcastle United warm up during a training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match against FC Barcelona at Newcastle United Training Centre on September 17, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)placeholder image
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 17: Jamaal Lascelles and Kieran Trippier of Newcastle United warm up during a training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match against FC Barcelona at Newcastle United Training Centre on September 17, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Newcastle United face Benfica at St James’ Park on Champions League matchday three.
Eight matches in and the Magpies have made a slow start to their Premier League campaign, with Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Brighton and Hove Albion their third defeat of the season after Liverpool and Arsenal.
Those defeats have all come via late goals, but it is in the offensive third where the biggest concern currently lies amid accusations that United are over-reliant on £69million club-record signing Nick Woltemade.
Newcastle have scored seven league goals in total this term, with only Wolves and Nottingham Forest - the only two teams they have beaten so far - scoring fewer. Four of those have been scored by Woltemade.
But in the Champions League, the picture is slightly more positive. After narrowly losing 2-1 to Barcelona in their league phase opener at St James’ Park, Eddie Howe’s side bounced back by thrashing Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0, marking the club’s best-ever victory in the competition.
Next up are Benfica and a familiar face in Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese giants have lost both their opening matches against Qarabag FK and Chelsea.
Newcastle United trio ruled out v Benfica due to injury
Newcastle are understood to have picked up no fresh injuries from the weekend defeat at Brighton, though remain without full-backs Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall, as well as summer signing Yoane Wissa.
Livramento is sidelined until the end of November with a knee injury, while the visit of Benfica is expected to come too soon for Hall, who is recovering from a hamstring problem.
And Wissa is still around a fortnight away from making his debut. The 29-year-old joined from Brentford for £55million on September 1 before suffering a knee injury on international duty with DR Congo just over a week later.
UEFA squad rules block Newcastle United defender from playing v Benfica
Newcastle, meanwhile, are prevented from naming club captain Jamaal Lascelles in their matchday squad versus Benfica after leaving the defender out of their 21-man Champions League ‘List A’ squad.
UEFA rules allow clubs to submit a ‘List A’ of up to 25 players - if they include four ‘club-trained’ players. But in this instance, the Magpies could only name a squad of 21 due to the lack of club-trained players.
A club-trained player is any player registered with their current club for at least three full seasons between the ages of 15 and 21, regardless of nationality.
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With over 250 appearances for United, Lascelles is the most senior player to be left off the squad list, with training goalkeepers John Ruddy and Mark Gillespie and right-back Harrison Ashby the other players to be omitted.
Newcastle United set to call-up under-21s duo v Benfica
In addition to List A, there is also List B, which is submitted to UEFA ahead of each Champions League matchday.
Unlike the Premier League, players born on or after January 1, 2004, do need to be named in the ‘List A’ unless they have been eligible to play for their club for an uninterrupted period of two years. Hall and Lewis Miley both feature on List B, while it has allowed Newcastle to call up the likes of Max Thompson and Alex Murphy to the matchday squad.
Given the list of absentees and the fact that Howe can name a maximum of 12 substitutes, Thompson and Murphy are again expected to be on the bench.
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