Newcastle United host Benfica at St James’ Park in the Champions League on Tuesday night (8pm kick-off)
Eddie Howe’s side will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion while also building on their 4-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise last time out in the Champions League.
The win in Belgium was Newcastle’s biggest ever in the competition as Nick Woltemade and Harvey Barnes scored either side of two Anthony Gordon penalties.
The win was Newcastle’s first away from home in the Champions League since beating Bayer Leverkusen back in 2003. Now The Magpies are looking to end a three-match losing streak at St James’ Park in the competition.
After the famous 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in October 2023, Newcastle have lost narrowly to Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Barcelona.
For a side who have historically been strong at home, it’s a losing streak they’ll be looking to end when Jose Mourinho’s side visit St James’ Park on Tuesday night.
Newcastle United handed Champions League boost
Newcastle will also be hoping for a win to boost their chances of getting out of the Champions League group phase with the added bonus of improving their UEFA coefficient score, which is still very low.
Newcastle’s two Champions League ventures in recent seasons have seen them drawn in pot four, the lowest pot, due to a lack of recent success on the continent.
The Magpies didn’t have a coefficient score the last time they were in the Champions League and were drawn into a ‘group of death’ alongside AC Milan, PSG and Borussia Dortmund.
The change in format to a 36-team group phase means the coefficients and pots are not quite as punishing this time around as every club must face two teams from either pot regardless.
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Newcastle United’s UEFA coefficient explained
Newcastle’s previous Champions League campaign, which saw them beat PSG 4-1, draw 1-1 with them away and draw 0-0 at AC Milan, granted them a coefficient score of 8.000 despite finishing bottom of the group.
Newcastle received 4.000 for entering the Champions League group stage, 2.000 for beating PSG and 1.000 apiece for the two draws.
But the change in format has given more weight to Champions League qualification this time around.
Newcastle United received 6.000 coefficient points for entering the Champions League group phase this season.
Teams in the Europa League or Conference League don’t receive such a boost and can only accumulate points for winning or drawing matches.
Newcastle's 4-0 win over Union SG has granted them a further 2.000 points, meaning their coefficient score has already equalled the score from the 2023/24 Champions League campaign.
And with more games to play this season and the potential of qualifying out of the group, Newcastle’s coefficient score has the potential to increase significantly.
Newcastle’s current UEFA club coefficient, which combines all coefficient scores from the previous five seasons, stands at 16.000. A win over Benfica would see their score increase to 18.000 while a draw would boost it to 17.000.
As this is still below the Premier League’s base coefficient (currently 19.512), Newcastle’s coefficient for competition draws will still be that of the Premier League rather than its individual standing until they win more Champions League matches. Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, who have no recent history in Europe prior to this season, also have the default Premier League coefficient.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa, who reached the quarter-final of the Champions League and semi-final of the Conference League in each of the last two seasons, have a strong coefficient of 51.250.
West Ham United, despite not being in Europe in each of the last two seasons, have a coefficient of 69.000 having won the Conference League in 2023.
Another two wins for Newcastle in the Champions League are likely to be enough to surpass the Premier League base coefficient and finally give the club a coefficient of its own recognised by UEFA.
Having a strong coefficient may not help Newcastle massively in terms of future draws, but it will help England’s country coefficient which could lead to more Champions League places in the future.
The strong performance of English clubs in Europe last season saw the Premier League granted an extra Champions League place through the European Performance Spot, which saw Newcastle qualify for the competition despite finishing fifth.
English club coefficients ranked
Here is a ranking of all English clubs based on their coefficient (coefficients will update following the next round of European fixtures):
1. Manchester City - 111.750
2. Liverpool - 109.500
3. Arsenal - 85.000
4. Chelsea - 84.000
5. Manchester United - 76.500
6. West Ham United - 69.000
7. Tottenham Hotspur - 64.250
8. Aston Villa - 51.250
-------Club with less than the Premier League default coefficient-------
9. Newcastle United - 16.000
10. Brighton & Hove Albion - 16.000
11. Leicester City - 13.000
12. Crystal Palace - 2.000
13. Nottingham Forest - 1.000
14. All other clubs - 0.000
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