Newcastle United and Barcelona square off in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday night.
The Premier League and La Liga giants are meeting at St James' Park for the second time this season, with Barcelona prevailing by a 2-1 scoreline in the League Phase thanks to a Marcus Rashford double.
While Barcelona earned a direct route through to this stage of the competition, Newcastle needed to overcome Azerbaijani side Qarabag FK in last month's playoffs.
How the bookies see it: Barcelona to win again at St James' Park
Bookmakers Bet365 have priced Barcelona as the favourites for this contest, yet only marginally with odds of 13/10 available for the Catalan giants.
Newcastle are the outsiders at 9/5, with the draw available at 13/5. Therefore, value is available whichever way you go, but Newcastle having to play a third high-profile St James' Park fixture in less than a week may count against them.
Head to head: Just the sixth competitive meeting
Newcastle and Barcelona have met on just five previous occasions, with four of those matches taking place between 1997 and 2003.
A Faustino Asprilla hat-trick famously earned Newcastle a 3-2 win in their first-ever showdown at St James' Park, but Barcelona have emerged victorious on the last four occasions.
Barcelona were deserved winners in the September 18 fixture last year. Newcastle had been 2-0 down until Anthony Gordon's consolation goal in the 90th minute.
Player to watch: Lewandowski to impress…if he starts
Hansi Flick has the option to use either Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski or Rashford down the middle of his attack.
With Ferran and Rashford not scoring since January, Lewandowski could get the nod after two consecutive appearances off the substitutes' bench.
Despite his restricted game time in 2025-26, the veteran Pole still has 14 goals in all competitions. His last strike was in the 4-1 win over Villarreal on February 28.
Anthony Gordon has 10 goals and two assists from 10 Champions League outings this season. Regardless of whether he starts on the flank or down the centre of the attack, the England international is a strong bet to score or assist at Evens.
Probable lineups:
Jacob Ramsey should return for Newcastle after serving a domestic ban, as will Gordon. Given the opposition, the latter may start on the flank, with Joelinton reverting back to central midfield.
Dan Burn may be recalled in place of Sven Botman, but Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley are again in line to miss out.
Pedri, Raphinha and Lewandowski could all start for Barcelona after substitute outings in the 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.
However, Jules Kounde and Frenkie de Jong are among those missing from the travelling group.
Newcastle United: Ramsdale; Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall; Joelinton, Tonali, Ramsey; Barnes, Woltemade, Gordon
Barcelona: J. Garcia; E. Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo; Fermin, Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been at least three goals in Barcelona's four away Champions League fixtures in 2025-26.
Meanwhile, there have been a total of 51 goals (31 scored, 20 conceded) in just 14 away La Liga matches.
A total of 52 goals have been netted (28 scored, 24 conceded) in Newcastle's 15 Premier League games at St James' Park.
Newcastle had lost three successive Premier League fixtures at St James' Park before their dramatic 2-1 win over Manchester United last week. They also lost 3-1 to Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday night.
Although Lamine Yamal has scored four times in his last six appearances, three of those goals came in the game with Villarreal.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
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