Newcastle vs Barcelona – News and Probable Lineups

For the second time in half a year, St James’ Park welcomes the legendary Barcelona, as Newcastle United invite the Spanish heavyweights for Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg.

The Magpies dispatched Azerbaijani contenders Qarabag in the knockout phase playoffs, while Hansi Flick’s squad secured fifth place in the league phase, ensuring a direct entrance to the last 16.

Match overview

More than four years after Newcastle’s lucrative Saudi-backed acquisition, the outcomes on and off the pitch have been varied at best. Nevertheless, Eddie Howe’s Magpies have finally achieved a significant milestone on the largest continental platform.

A finish of 12th in the league phase – while not stellar – saw Newcastle reach the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the first time in their history, and the hosts will now play in their inaugural last-16 match in Europe’s top competition.

Howe’s players had their two-legged encounter with Qarabag resolved within 90 minutes, thanks to a 6-1 thrashing in the first leg. Even if their 3-2 win in the second leg wasn’t particularly impressive, they could have been forgiven for easing off the pace.

However, domestic turmoil continues to plague the Magpies, who recently suffered a disappointing 3-2 Premier League defeat at home to Everton, lost 2-1 to Manchester United while down to 10 men, and were beaten 3-1 by Manchester City in the FA Cup in recent weeks.

Howe’s long-term future at St James’ Park remains under scrutiny while Newcastle struggles for consistency, yet his side remains thrilling for neutral spectators, having both scored and conceded in each of their last 12 matches across all competitions.

On Tuesday evening, Champions League underperformers will face Champions League experts, as Barcelona aims to improve upon their 2024-25 run to the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by Inter de Milão.

Barcelona’s league-phase journey was as hectic as anticipated, as their eight matches featured a total of 36 goals – tied with Borussia Dortmund – with 22 at the right end and 14 conceded.

No team in the top 13 allowed in more goals than the La Liga champions, whose high defensive line was particularly vulnerable at Stamford Bridge. Still, Flick and his team have made commendable efforts to tighten the Blaugrana defence recently.

Indeed, Barcelona’s 1-0 La Liga victory over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday – secured by a familiar goal from the electrifying Lamine Yamal – marked their eighth clean sheet across all competitions in 2026; at the time of writing, only Inter de Milão (9) has achieved more in Europe’s top five leagues this year.

Flick’s team has now secured four consecutive victories across all competitions – despite their 3-0 Copa del Rey loss to Atletico Madrid being rendered moot due to a humiliating 4-0 defeat in the first leg – and history is predictably in the visitors’ favor.

Barcelona has won their last five Champions League last-16 ties against English clubs, and Flick oversaw a 2-1 win at St James’ Park in September’s league-phase encounter, marked by a brilliant brace from Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford.

Team News

Big-money Newcastle duo Nick Woltemade and Sandro Tonali overcame illness and a thigh injury respectively to start the loss to Manchester City on Saturday night, and Howe will also have Jacob Ramsey available again following a domestic ban for Tuesday’s fixture.

Tino Livramento is also eager to play, having returned from a thigh issue of his own in the FA Cup defeat, but Emil Krafth (knee), Lewis Miley (thigh), Fabian Schar (ankle), and vital midfielder Bruno Guimaraes (thigh) are all set to miss the visit of Barcelona.

Only a second-half substitute on Saturday evening, four-goal hero Anthony Gordon – already Newcastle’s record goalscorer in a single Champions League campaign – is expected to feature among several names restored to the starting XI by the Newcastle manager.

As for Barcelona, Marc Bernal raised concerns when he was substituted at halftime against Athletic, but the midfielder was only dealing with stomach troubles and might have recovered in time for Tuesday.

However, the visitors will certainly be missing Alejandro Balde (hamstring), Gavi (knee), Frenkie de Jong (hamstring), Jules Kounde (hamstring), and Andreas Christensen (ACL) for this week’s encounter, and none are expected to be back for the second leg either.

Now boasting an impressive 34 goal involvements from 36 matches in 2025-26 – 19 goals and 15 assists – Yamal is poised to set another record, as he gets ready to be the youngest player to reach 30 appearances in the Champions League stage.

Newcastle United probable starting XI:

Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Willock, Tonali, Joelinton; Barnes, Wissa, Gordon

Barcelona probable starting XI:

J. Garcia; E. Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo; Pedri, Casado; Yamal, Lopez, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Despite Barcelona’s diligent defensive efforts in recent weeks, the Blaugrana have gone 11 matches without a clean sheet in the Champions League, a run that will likely extend to 12 at a vibrant St James’ Park.

Flick’s aggressive attack can still clash with Newcastle’s offense to secure a first-leg advantage, potentially only a slim one due to several key absences, as the Magpies aim to keep the contest alive ahead of the return leg at Camp Nou.