Newcastle United welcome Barcelona once more to St. James’ Park this season, although their UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg has a lot more riding on it.
Eddie Howe’s side were dumped out of the FA Cup over the weekend, losing 3-1 at home to Manchester City. With Newcastle floundering in 12th place in the Premier League, the Champions League is all they have left to play for this season — although this is the club’s first-ever tie in the round of 16.
It is quite the opposite for Barcelona, who lead LaLiga by four points after a 1-0 win away to Athletic Club on Saturday, after nearly making it to the Copa del Rey final earlier when they beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 but lost 3-4 on aggregate.
Hansi Flick’s side had beaten Newcastle in the Champions League league phase earlier this season, with a Marcus Rashford brace inspiring the visitors to a 2-1 win.
Here’s everything you need to know about Tuesday’s match:
How to watch
The match will be broadcast on Tuesday on Amazon Prime Video in the UK, CBS / Paramount+ in the U.S., SonyLIV in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Key Details
Kick-off time: Tuesday, March 10 at 8 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET; 1.30 a.m. IST, Wednesday and 6 a.m. AEDT, Wednesday)
Venue: St. James Park, Newcastle
Referee: Marco Guida (Italy)
VAR: Daniele Chiffi (Italy)
Injury News
Newcastle United
Emil Krafth, D: OUT, knee
Fabian Schär, D: OUT, ankle
Bruno Guimarães, M: OUT, muscle
Lewis Miley, D/M: OUT, knee
Barcelona
Toni Fernández, F: OUT, ankle
Jofre Torrents, D: OUT, calf
Alejandro Balde, D: OUT, hamstring
Andreas Christensen, D: OUT, ACL
Jules Koundé, D: OUT, hamstring
Frenkie de Jong, M: OUT, thigh
Gavi, M: DOUBT, meniscus
Talking Points
Lamine Yamal
Lamine Yamal. That’s it That’s the tweet (point).
The teenager already has numbers that none of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo nor Kylian Mbappé could manage at this age. And every time one watches him, it’s clear that he can pull off something at a moment’s notice.
1:16
Is Lamine Yamal the best player in the world?
Alejandro Moreno discusses Lamine Yamal’s growing stardom after his matching winning goal vs. Atheltic Club.
Yamal lives for the moment, and after becoming the youngest-ever Barcelona player to score a hat-trick, he followed it up with an assist against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey, and then the crucial winner against Athletic Club over the weekend.
Yamal’s numbers now stand at a scarcely believable 34 goal contributions (19G, 15A) from 36 games this season, and given Newcastle’s issues with keeping a clean sheet, he’s all-but guaranteed to be heavily involved come Tuesday night.
Will Barcelona’s high line offer Newcastle hope?
To the layman’s eye, Barcelona’s high line has always looked risky, but Flick has somehow managed to make it work. Yes, no other team in the top 13 of the Champions League league phase let in more goals than the Catalans, and Newcastle found plenty of joy in the early stage of their game in September, with Anthony Elanga in particular, causing the Barca backline plenty of problems — before the Marcus Rashford show.
Eddie Howe can rely on the in-form Anthony Gordon, Elanga and Harvey Barnes to provide plenty of pace to take advantage of that high line, but they might be stymied.
Flick’s Barça have turned a corner from the beginning of 2026, with their most recent clean sheet against Athletic Club their eighth in all competitions — only Inter Milan have more in 2026 in Europe’s top five leagues. Marc Bernal has grown into the midfield role, protecting Gerard MartÃn and Pau Cubarsà in the Barça backline and with Pedri‘s return, Barcelona once against have a metronome in midfield that will help them dominate possession.
Will injuries scupper Barça’s Champions League hopes?
Barcelona’s lengthy injury list has grown to seven first-team players, with Frenkie de Jong, Alejandro Balde and Jules Koundé the latest to get hamstring problems. Flick has taken the responsibility on himself, although noted that his medical staff needed to get their act together fast.
De Jong will be a particularly bad miss, as Flick’s high line is very dependent on keeping possession at the base of midfield. Pedri’s return from injury has helped Barcelona a fair bit, but they have lost incisiveness.
Barcelona had about 70% possession in their most recent games, but especially against Bilbao lacked penetration from midfield, as they finished with fewer xG than their opponents — a paltry 0.40.
Even with players returning, Flick seems to be losing players to muscular injuries with consistency, and if it continues, it could spell the end of their Champions League hopes, the conveyor belt of La Masia talent notwithstanding.
Can Newcastle use their physicality to overcome Barcelona?
It’s been Eddie Howe’s best weapon in big fixtures, reducing the game to a physical contest. With the likes of Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, Nick Woltemade, Dan Burn in their lineup, Newcastle certainly have the physical prowess to make any game a battle.
2:07
Howe: Newcastle need to find energy to elevate performance for Barcelona game
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe says his side need to find energy for their Champions League fixture vs. Barcelona after their 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup.
However, what made that physicality work in the end was the efficiency of Bruno Guimarães, with the midfielder using that physical advantage to do what wins football games — create and score goals. The Brazilian’s absence has been keenly felt by Newcastle who are on a run of two wins in their last eight in the league, which have included five losses and a draw as well.
Howe used Newcastle’s physicality to good effect in the previous game against Barcelona, but Rashford was one of those accustomed to their bruising nature. Barcelona have the antidote, and if they can supply Rashford and get him running at Newcastle’s backline, the two-legged tie could be over before it reaches Spain.
What do the numbers say?
-
Barcelona have won their last four games against Newcastle, who won the first-ever game between the two sides in the 1997/98 Champions League group stage.
-
Newcastle have lost the home leg of a two-legged UEFA tie once twice of the last 32 such games.
-
Barcelona have won 10 of their last 15 Champions League two-legged ties against English opposition, and 15 of their last 16 round-of-16 ties.
-
Barcelona have not kept a clean sheet in their last 11 games in the Champions League, but Newcastle have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 12 games in all competitions.
-
Lamine Yamal is in line to become the youngest player to make 30 Champions League appearances, beating Warren Zaire Emery’s record.
