NUFC will play PSG and Barcelona in the Champions Leagueplaceholder image
NUFC will play PSG and Barcelona in the Champions League | Getty Images
UEFA Champions League draw: Newcastle United have discovered their opponents for the league phase of the Champions League.
Newcastle United will play Barcelona, PSG, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Marseille, PSV Eindhoven, Athletic Club and Royal Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League league phase this season. The Magpies were placed in Pot Four of the draw which involved six English teams.
UEFA rules prevented them from being drawn against any of the five other clubs from England, whilst limiting them to just two opponents from the same nation. The Magpies were the lowest ranked English team in the draw and the third-lowest ranked team in the whole draw with just Cypriot side Pafos and Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan, both of whom are embarking on their first ever season in the Champions League, with a lower coefficient.
Eddie Howe’s side will play four games at home and four games away in the league stage and know they must avoid finishing 25-36 to ensure progression to the knockout stage. They will play one home game against a team from each pot and one away game against a team from each pot - with confirmed dates of those games to be revealed in the coming days.
A top-eight finish, however unlikely, would guarantee their progression to the Round of 16 and ensure they do not have to play an extra play-off knockout round. Unlike last time when the Champions League was a 32-team competition with eight groups of four and home and away games against each team in their group, this league stage means they will play against eight completely different teams.
Newcastle United’s 2024/25 Champions League draw
In an unusual draw, the Magpies found out their opponents from Pot One first with PSG and Barcelona being their opponents from that group. Of course, the Magpies faced PSG in their last Champions League campaign, winning 4-1 at St James’ Park in their first home game back in the competition for over a decade.
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They were denied a famous win away at the Parc des Princes by a late Kylian Mbappe penalty and they will have the opportunity to avenge that this time around. PSG are, of course, the holders of the Champions League trophy.
Newcastle United also have the chance to reignite another European rivalry when Barcelona travel to St James’ Park. A Tino Asprilla hat-trick back in 1997 helped the Magpies secure probably their most famous Champions League win on that day.
Pot Two threw up a trip to Bayer Leverkusen. Leverkusen are currently managed by former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.
Benfica will also come to Tyneside in a repeat of their meeting in the 2012/13 Europa League. The Portuguese side defeated Alan Pardew’s 4-2 Newcastle United over two legs after triumphing 3-1 in Portugal.
Pot Three gave them an away tie against Marseille, yet another team they have European history with. Marseille defeated the Magpies in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup semi-final. PSV Eindhoven, a club formerly managed by Sir Bobby Robson, will also make the trip to Tyneside.
Athletic Club, who the Magpies have previous Champions League history against, will face the Magpies at St James’ Park. The final team to be drawn against Newcastle United were Belgian side Royal Union Saint-Gilloise.
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