St James’ Park is set for a special night on Thursday, when Newcastle United welcome Barcelona for their Champions League opener. It feels like a throwback to the 1990s, with the Magpies back on Europe’s biggest stage after missing out last season. For Eddie Howe’s men, this fixture isn’t just about points; it’s about making a statement against one of the most established names in the game.
Newcastle haven’t had the easiest start domestically, but their weekend win over Wolves came at the perfect time with new signing Woltemade delivering on his debut. It reminded fans of their resilience, and more importantly, it gave the players belief. Barcelona, on the other hand, look every inch the favourites. They’ve already scored 13 goals in four La Liga games, including a 6-0 demolition of Valencia that saw Lewandowski, Raphinha and Fermin Lopez grab a brace each, and under Hansi Flick, they’re playing with sharpness and purpose.
Softfotball understands that Barcelona has tested the ground ahead of the game, with Barcelona’s admin uploading a video of the team training on the turf on the club’s official X account.
Watch the Video below;
Team News
The Magpies have reasons to be upbeat with a few key men returning. New signing Nick Woltemade is expected to lead the line, while Bruno Guimarães, Tonali, and Joelinton will shoulder the midfield battle. They also have the likes of Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy, Elanga and Anthony Gordon to mix up things in attack.
Barcelona travels with most of their stars fit. Robert Lewandowski remains the obvious danger and could start in place of Ferran Torres in the middle, who himself has also been in fine form alongside Raphinha, but it’s the balance in midfield that could tilt the contest as the likes of Pedri, Dani Olmo, Marc Casado, and Fermin Lopez are expected to run things in the middle.
Defensively, they’ve had one or two concerns, which Newcastle will look to exploit, but the presence of Paul Cubarsi and Joan Garcia in goal could aid the Catalans defensively. Sadly, Lamine Yamal will be out of this contest, and it remains to be seen who will partner Lewandowski and Raphinha in attack between Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford, although the Spaniard has the edge given his form.
Possible Line-ups
Newcastle (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Elanga, Woltemade, Gordon
Barcelona (4-3-3): J. Garcia; Kounde, Christensen, Cubarsi, Martin; Casado, Pedri; Raphinha, Fermin, Ferran; Lewandowski
SoftFootball’s Predictions
Newcastle will throw everything at Barcelona, feeding off the home crowd, and there’s every chance they make it uncomfortable for Flick’s men. But Barça’s European know-how and attacking firepower might just prove decisive.
Prediction: Newcastle 1-3 Barcelona
