Newcastle United will discover their Champions League round of 16 opponents when the draw takes place on Friday morning
Ally McCoist
Ally McCoist
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Ally McCoist believes it would be 'brave' to write Newcastle United out of progressing into the quarter-finals of the Champions League - as they wait to discover their opponents.
Eddie Howe’s side booked their place in the round of 16 draw with a comfortable 9-3 aggregate win over Qarabag in their play-off. Tuesday night’s 3-2 victory followed last week’s 6-1 victory in Azerbaijan.
Newcastle already know that they will be drawn against either Chelsea or Barcelona in the next round, with both teams qualifying automatically from the group stage. Their opponents will be confirmed when the draw takes place at 11am on Friday morning, with the route to a potential final also decided.
Given Newcastle’s Premier League form, there could be a bit of trepidation at facing either team. But McCoist believes that it will, in fact, be the other way around, with the two sides hoping to avoid a trip to St James’ Park.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “Do you really fancy going up there?
“I don’t care who you are, I don’t care if you’re Barcelona, I don’t care if you’re Chelsea. You don’t fancy going up there, I’m telling you.”
He later added: “Newcastle will do fine. I’ll tell you now, it would be a brave man that wrote Newcastle out of that tie, whoever it is against, Barcelona or Chelsea. More than capable of beating either on their day.”
Leo Shahar acknowledges the fans following the team's victory during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between Newcastle United FC and Qarabag FK at St James' Park.
Newcastle United booked their place in the Champions League round of 16.(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
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Newcastle have already played both teams this season. In the Champions League group stage, a Marcus Rashford brace saw them fall to a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona.
But the Magpies are unbeaten in their two meetings with Chelsea this campaign, with the league clash at St James’ Park ending in a 2-2 draw and Newcastle winning 2-0 in a Carabao Cup fourth round match.
Speaking after the win over Qarabag, Howe has taken a similar stance to McCoist.
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“Whoever we get in the next round will be an amazing tie for us,” he said. “I believe that we can raise our game and compete with anybody.
“That’s what we’re going to have to do, whoever we get. But I think it’s a massive thing for us to give our season an extra boost to get through this knockout phase and then into the next one.”
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