Newcastle United face Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16, and after the draw, they know every possible opponent they could play in the knockout stages
The UEFA Champions League draw for the 2025/26 knockout rounds
The UEFA Champions League draw for the 2025/26 knockout rounds(Image: Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
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Newcastle United will play Barcelona twice more during this season's Champions League after being drawn against their matchday one league stage opponents in the last 16.
Marcus Rashford scored both the Catalan club's goals in a 2-1 win at St James' Park during mid-September. Manchester United's loanee and his teammate will now be back on Tyneside six months later.
Newcastle also now know that either Atletico Madrid or Tottenham Hotspur await them in the quarter-finals. The Magpies have a good recent record against Spurs, winning 2-1 away two-and-a-half weeks ago in their final game before sacking Thomas Frank.
Eddie Howe's side have won seven of their last nine meetings across all competitions, losing just once, which was Ange Postecoglou's first game in charge against them. Therefore, the prospect of playing them again appears preferable to a two-legged tie with Diego Simeone's side.
The Magpies have never played Atletico in a competitive match but did lose 2-0 in a pre-season friendly on Tyneside last summer. Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez scored their goals that day, the former of whom is reportedly in talks over signing for Major League Soccer side Orlando City.
Newcastle advancing to the semi-finals would see them face one of Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Bodo/Glimt or Sporting, and of those four teams, playing Arsenal again this season would surely be the worst-case scenario after losing both games to them in 2025. The clubs are also due to play their second Premier League match of this season at Emirates Stadium the weekend before the first leg of any semi-final.
Newcastle also played Bayer Leverkusen during the league phase, drawing 2-2 in Germany thanks to a late equaliser from Alejandro Grimaldo. The hosts initially led early on through a Bruno Guimaraes own goal, but an Anthony Gordon penalty got the Magpies back level before Lewis Miley put them in the lead.
Leverkusen lost their previous two games against Newcastle back in 2003, both 3-1, with Alan Shearer scoring a hat-trick against them at St James'. One week earlier, Shola Ameobi was at the double in North Rhine-Westphalia, with Lomana LuaLua also on the scoresheet.
Sporting, meanwhile, were one of the first European clubs Newcastle ever played competitively, meeting in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup second round during their victorious 1968/69 campaign. Joe Harvey's side drew 1-1 in Lisbon thanks to a Jim Scott goal, and Pop Robson scored the second leg winner at St James'.
They also played three times in the UEFA Cup in the 2004/2005 season, first drawing 1-1 during the group stages. Both clubs then met again in the quarter-finals, with Alan Shearer scoring the only goal in their first leg before Sporting scored four unanswered goals in Lisbon after Kieron Dyer put Newcastle ahead 2-0 on aggregate.
Bodo, like Atletico, are a club the Magpies have never previously played. Despite beating Atletico and Manchester City, then winning over two legs against Inter, they would still present the best-case route to the final for Newcastle on paper.
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