Welcome to the Newcastle United v Barcelona preview.
Champions League Last 16 (First Leg).
Tuesday 10 March with an 8pm kick-off.
Newcastle go toe-to-toe with Barcelona in the last sixteen of the Champions League, hoping to upset the Catalan giants and book a place in the quarter-finals for the first time in our history.
The Toon will be looking to make home advantage count before a daunting trip to the intimidating Camp Nou next Wednesday and will need to be at their very best to take a lead into the second leg.
Recent exits from both domestic trophies means that this remains our last chance of lifting silverware for the second season in a row.
Barcelona have already travelled to Tyneside this season and will be aiming for a repeat of the 2-1 victory that opened the Champions League campaign of both teams in September.
Form
Newcastle have played ten Champions League matches so far this season. The eight Swiss League matches saw United winning four, drawing two and losing two. Victories achieved over Union SG, Benfica, Bilbao and PSV, whereas score draws were gained on our travels to Leverkusen and PSG. We lost at home to Barcelona and away at Marseille. We scored seventeen goals in these matches and conceded seven. The fourteen points gained saw us finish twelfth in the thirty-six team league. We kicked off the knockout rounds in style, hammering Qarabag 6-1 away from home to take a healthy lead into the second leg where we won 3-2 to confirm a fine 9-3 aggregate success.
Barcelona have played eight Champions League matches and opened their campaign with a 2-1 win away at Newcastle. Their other seven Swiss League games saw four victories, one draw and two defeats. Wins came against Olympiacos, Frankfurt, Slavia Prague and Copehagen. They drew with Club Brugge and lost to both PSG and Chelsea (two teams that have been unable to beat NUFC this season). They scored twenty-two goals in these eight matches and conceded fourteen. As they finished fifth in the league phase, they qualified automatically for the last sixteen and didn’t need to compete in a play-off round.
Last time out
Newcastle hosted Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday and took the game to their opponents from the first whistle, going close twice in the opening stages before taking the lead through a superb strike from Harvey Barnes. A fantastic pass from Tonali allowed Barnes to break free down the left, take a touch and fire the ball into the Leazes End net with his right foot to spark scenes of wild celebration. At this point, Newcastle were the better team, but dreams of a famous victory were dashed by conceding soft goals either side of half-time to gift the advantage to Man City. With the tie getting away from us, Eddie Howe opted for a triple substitution. Before they could make an impact though, Man City scored again to make it 3-1 and unfortunately there was no way back for NUFC.
Barcelona travelled to our friends from Bilbao on Saturday and came away with a 1-0 win courtesy of a second-half goal from Yamal. They proudly sit top of the Spanish League, four points ahead of fierce rivals Real Madrid.
Stat attack!
-In five Champions league meetings between the sides, Newcastle have won one and lost four.
-NUFC have never drawn a home Champions league match or any competitive game at home to Spanish opposition.
-The Toon have played five home matches in the Champions league this season and won four. Our only defeat coming at the hands of….Barcelona.
Memorable match
September 1997 saw one of the greatest European nights in Newcastle United’s history! This one was absolutely epic. On a night where we were expected to just make up the numbers, we completely overwhelmed one the best teams in Europe in a match that has gone down in NUFC folklore. As an eleven-year-old lad, I’ll never forget being there behind the goal as Asprilla completed his hat-trick to put United 3-0 up. One of my favourite matches of all time, I could write over a million words and not do it justice. Read all about this legendary match, fingers crossed for a repeat.
Played for both
Sir Bobby Robson didn’t play for either side but it’s safe to say his impact on both clubs was long-lasting and inspirational. As manager of Barcelona he won the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in his one season in charge, having made the employment of Jose Mourinho a part of the deal that took him to Spain. He spent another season ‘upstairs’ at the Catalan giants and is fondly remembered by their supporters, who celebrated his legacy with Toon fans when we were drawn against them in the second group stage of the 02/03 Champions league.
He managed Newcastle from 1999 until 2004 and took us from second bottom of the Premiership into the Champions League with fourth and third placed finishes before reaching the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2004. His place in the history of our club has been celebrated with a bust in the players entrance as well as a statue outside the stadium. Perhaps even more impressive than his incredible managerial career is the charity he set up before he sadly passed away in 2009. The Sir Bobby Robson foundation has raised millions upon millions and continues to do incredible work for those affected by cancer. Check out their website.
Patrick Kluivert spent six years at Barcelona and scored ninety goals in one-hundred and eighty-two league matches. A phenomenal talent, we never really saw the best of him in his one season at NUFC. Signed by Sir Bobby in 2004, he soon found himself being managed by Graeme Souness as NUFC’s fortunes nose dived. We went from a fifth placed league finish all the way down to fourteenth in just twelve months. Highlights included winning goals against both Chelsea and Tottenham as we reached the FA Cup semi-final.
Luuk De Jong had loan spells at both clubs. He played twelve matches for the Toon in 2014 under Alan Pardew without scoring a goal. He did slightly better at Barca, scoring six times in his twenty-one appearances, but neither club were desperate to snap him up on a permanent deal.
Managers
Eddie Howe after a 3-1 home defeat to Man City in the FA Cup on Saturday evening:
“Good start from us, really good for half an hour. There’s probably two things that happened. We couldn’t sustain our start in terms of energy but they also played really well. We just have to accept that. I felt we maybe ran out of gas, certainly in the second half but also towards the end of the first half. You have to say they were a very good side. We needed the ball to try and generate pressure but we couldn’t get enough of it. That was a tough learning lesson for us in that second half, we just didn’t have the strength to make a dent in them. The way they play and how good they are technically, they took a stranglehold of the ball. When we got it back, we gave it away too easily, maybe looking too vertical and not horizontal enough at times. As soon as you make a technical mistake, you’re not seeing the ball for long periods and then your energy just drains away. That’s why they have been the best team for so long.”
Hansi Flick after a 1-0 win away to Bilbao:
“It’s not easy to play here. I think we had to manage the minutes after Tuesday’s game. I value the victory very much. And we have left without conceding a goal. I think when we play with our style, sometimes we fit in. It depends on the whole team, we all defend. A clean sheet gives confidence and helps our philosophy. I’m always proud of my players. This team has a special atmosphere, which I value. I value how they’re together, their behaviour, everything is fantastic. I’m happy. I like what I see. After the game against Atletico, I saw a good attitude, that’s what I see and look for. They’re focused on training. It’s not easy to win in this stadium, against a fantastic team and fans. And we kept a clean sheet.”
Charity
Newcastle United fans food bank will once again be collecting opposite the Gallowgate end and gratefully receiving food, money and toiletries for those in need. Of particular interest are non-perishable food and drink items (such as noodles, pasta, rice, canned food, soup, cereal, cordial, long life milk etc) as well as toiletries such as shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste and sanitary products. Please give whatever you can, any donation is very much appreciated.
For further info and/or to donate online go to Newcastle Foodbank
Prediction
This is one of the biggest games since Sir Bobby faced Barcelona in 2003, on a night where we could have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League had we won and Leverkusen had beaten Inter Milan.
Being at home in the first leg means we need to take a positive result into the away game to have a realistic chance of making the next round. We played well at home to Barcelona in September and were unlucky to lose 2-1. I fancy us to go one better this time around and set up a mouthwatering second leg at the iconic Camp Nou. Newcastle 1-1 Barcelona