Newcastle United were represented in Thursday’s Champions League draw and have been handed eight very exciting fixtures.
After a year out, the Magpies are back in the Champions League and are ready to make their mark on the competition.
Newcastle United were in pot four for the Champions League draw, but their chances of having a tough draw were no different to the rest of the teams represented.
Jamie Reuben represented Newcastle in Monaco while the draw took place, and cameras showed the minority stakeholder giving a rather calm reaction when seeing some of the ties they would be involved in this season. The pick of the games was undoubtedly Barcelona at St James’ Park. Fans will remember Tino Asprilla’s hat-trick against Barcelona in 1997, the final three goals he scored for the club.
Now, Newcastle get to run it back after 28 years. Elsewhere, Newcastle drew the likes of PSG, Bayer Leverkusen and Athletic Club. Additionally, the Magpies will travel to Belgium to take on Union SG later on this year. For one of their players, it meant so much more than just a game.
Bruno Guimaraes celebrates after learning that Newcastle United have qualified for the Champions League.
Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images
Ross Sykes’ brilliant reaction after drawing Newcastle United in the Champions League
Union SG are a team who have enjoyed a lot of recent success. They have qualified for Europe in each of the last four seasons, and they find themselves back in the Champions League following their Belgian Pro League title in the 2024/25 campaign.
USG were in the Champions League last season, but found themselves eliminated in the qualifying rounds. However, it is a completely different story this time around, as they will be in the league phase for the very first time. Newcastle were revealed as USG’s final opponents in the Champions League, though it remains to be seen what date they will play each other.
In a video posted on social media, the USG players were seen celebrating when their name was listed on Newcastle’s fixtures, but the biggest cheer came from Ross Sykes, a defender from Burnley who now plays for the Belgian side.
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Sykes is a Newcastle fan and will be living his dream by playing against the Magpies. The 26-year-old made over 100 appearances for Accrington Stanley before his move to Belgium, but now he will be welcoming the Magpies to the Joseph Marien Stadium later this year.
Newcastle United have prepared for the Champions League this summer
While games against USG are exciting, Newcastle have several very tough opponents in the pipeline. They are no doubt exciting, but they will be hoping for a miracle to get all three points against some of them.
However, Newcastle made sure they were prepared for the quality of these Champions League teams during pre-season.
Newcastle’s pre-season schedule featured teams that were represented in the Champions League, either in the league phase or the qualifying rounds. For example, Newcastle welcomed Atletico Madrid to St James’ Park for the Sela Cup, and took a trip to Glasgow to play Celtic in mid-July.
Additionally, Newcastle played Arsenal and Tottenham during their tour of Asia. The two North London clubs are also in the Champions League this season.
Newcastle are likely to be without Alexander Isak for the Champions League, but their squad is more than capable of being competitive.