Newcastle United face Barcelona on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 pairing.
Barcelona finished fifth in the initial group stage and didn’t have to go through a qualifying round. Meanwhile, Eddie Howe’s side finished 12th, however they got a fortunate play-off draw and eased through against Qarabag.
Hansi Flick has his side top of La Liga, but they faced disappointment on Tuesday evening. Winning 3-0 against Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona still went out after a 4-0 defeat in the first leg.
That will focus minds ahead of the first leg against Newcastle United. The Catalans are aware they can’t come away from St James’ Park poorly and just hope to sort it out later.
Why Barcelona have special plan for Newcastle United
Raphinha
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – 01 11 2026: Raphinha seen celebrating with a trophy during Spanish Supercup Final game between teams of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid
Barcelona face Athletic Club on Saturday. Usually they’d return home and then fly out to England on Monday.
Instead, Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco have come up with a new plan. The idea is to make sure Barcelona’s players are fully rested before the Newcastle United match.
Therefore. they’ll fly to England on Sunday, giving them two nights of rest before the Magpies match. This means they’ll fly to Bilbao on Saturday morning, instead of staying over the night before.
Planning for the Athletic Club match has taken second place to the Champions League.
Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo state this is to ‘prioritise the health’ of players.
What happens then
There’s a possibility of a recovery session in Newcastle on Sunday, although it’s not made clear where they would happen exactly. Given Barcelona will be in the city for two nights, they’re obviously going to need somewhere appropriate to train.
Barcelona almost managed the unlikely comeback against Atlético Madrid last night. Two goals from Marc Benal and a Raphinha penalty sent up a tense end to the cup game.
The Blaugrana were then unable to make it 4-4, win 3-0 on the night, and Diego Simeone’s side progress to the final.