Qarabag and Newcastle will go toe-to-toe in the first-leg of the Champions League playoff round at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium on Wednesday, in a huge game for both sides.
The Azerbaijani side finished 22nd in the League Phase with ten points from their eight games, including wins over Benfica and Copenhagen, and a draw against Chelsea. Eddie Howe's side, on the other hand, finished 12th in the League Phase with 14 points from their eight games, including wins over USG, Benfica, and Athletic Club, as well as a draw away to PSG.
Both teams have some injury concerns heading into this game, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expects the teams to line up.
Qarabag Team News
qarabağ-fk-champions-league
Goalkeeper Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev is expected to miss the game due to injury, having not featured at all since mid-November.
Outside of that, winger Kady Borges is available despite being given a red card this past weekend in domestic action, with his suspension not travelling across competitions.
Qarabag Injuries and Suspensions
Player
Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev
Qarabag Predicted XI
Leandro Andrade
Qarabag Predicted XI: Kochalski; Silva, Mustafazada, Medina, Cafarquliyev; Bicalho, Jankovic; Andrade, Montiel, Zoubir; Duran
Qarabag Predicted Substitutes: Ramazanov (GK), Buntic (GK), Mmaee (DEF), Guseynov (DEF), Bayramov (DEF), Daniel (DEF), Huseynov (DEF), Kouakou (MID), Kashchuk (MID), Axundzadze (FWD), Addai (FWD), Qurbanli (FWD).
Newcastle Team News
Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates vs Crystal Palace
The Magpies have been rocked by news that captain Bruno Guimaraes is set to miss around eight weeks of action with a hamstring injury, ruling him out until after the March international break.
Fabian Schar, Tino Livramento, Emil Krafth, Joelinton and Lewis Miley are also set to miss out, but Yoane Wissa and Sven Botman could return after missing the weekend win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
Newcastle Injuries and Suspensions
Player
Bruno Guimaraes
Fabian Schar
Tino Livramento
Emil Krafth
Joelinton
Lewis Miley
Yoane Wissa
Sven Botman
Howe Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Howe shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
"Joelinton's back in the squad so that's a great boost for us. He's such an important player, such a big presence within our squad, such a real leader.
"He trained yesterday and trained well, and felt really good. No one else from the missing list, I think, has travelled from the last game so we're missing quite a few players, quite a few real quality players as well. They're big misses for us, but we come in here good spirits from our last two games.
"We will play our strongest team in the sense that we will try and win the game. There'll be no thinking of the schedule ahead; this game, in isolation, is hugely important.
"Lewy's [Miley] made good progress in the last few days. We're quite happy with with his progress. He's had a number of scans; it came from a knock, which seems quite strange, but just a really bad dead leg gave some muscle disruption. So as soon as that muscle is healed, which we think it is, now we can push him on.
"Emil's [Krafth] had an operation on his knee so I think in all likelihood, it looks like the season is over, which is a real blow for us.
"He first had the problem on international duty. We hoped that he could come back and be okay, but it became apparent in training recently that he wasn't going to get to the level needed, and there needed to be a surgical intervention."
Newcastle Predicted XI
anthony gordon newcastle united
Newcastle Predicted XI: Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall; Joelinton, Tonali; J. Murphy, Ramsey, Gordon; Woltemade.
Newcastle Predicted Substitutes: Ramsdale (GK), Ruddy (GK), A. Murphy (DEF), Shahar (DEF), Neave (MID), Willock (MID), Barnes (FWD), Elanga (FWD), Wissa (FWD), Osula (FWD).
After struggling for form this season, £55m man Anthony Elanga is likely to find himself on the bench once more, while top-scorer in the Champions League Anthony Gordon comes back into the starting lineup.
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