Newcastle will be targeting a third Champions League win in succession when they welcome Athletic Bilbao to St James' Park on Wednesday night.
After falling to a 2-1 defeat at home to Barcelona on matchday one, the Magpies have rebounded with back-to-back wins over Union SG and Benfica.
As such, another victory here this midweek would go a long way to seeing Eddie Howe’s side secure qualification to the knockout round.
However, Newcastle preparations for this clash were far from ideal, as they crashed to a 3-1 defeat away at West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.
As for Athletic Bilbao, they picked up their first Champions League points of the season at the third attempt with a 3-1 win over Qarabag a fortnight ago.
However, Ernesto Valverde’s side have lost their subsequent two matches in La Liga, the most recent of which saw them on the wrong end of a 3-2 reverse against rivals Real Sociedad.
How the bookies view it: Toon to triumph
Newcastle are heavy odds-on favourites on Wednesday night, with a home win trading at 8/15 on BOYLE Sports.
Athletic Bilbao come into this St James’ Park showdown as 5/1 underdogs with BOYLE Sports while the draw is also considered unlikely at 14/5 with the same firm.
Head to head: A rare encounter
Newcastle and Athletic Bilbao will come up against each other in a competitive fixture for the first time since a UEFA Cup second round qualifier way back in 1995, with the La Liga side progressing on away goals.
Players to watch: Nick to notch?
With six goals across his 12 appearances since joining Newcastle, classy German forward Nick Woltemade holds plenty of appeal to either score or assist on Wednesday night at 4/5 on Bet365.
Having hit three goals across his last two Champions League outings, Athletic Bilbao's Gorka Guruzeta looks a little overpriced to register one on-target effort here at 8/11 with Bet365.
Predicted line-ups
Newcastle will once again be unable to call upon the services of injured trio Harrison Ashby, Tino Livramento and Yoane Wissa, while Anthony Gordon is a major doubt after coming off injured against West Ham at the weekend.
Benat Prados, Inaki Williams, Inigo Lekue, Maroan Sannadi, Unai Egiluz and Yeray Alvarez will all miss out for the visitors on Wednesday night due to injury.
Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Thiaw, Burn; Miley, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Elanga, Woltemade, Barnes
Athletic Bilabao: Simon; Gorosabel, Paredes, Laporte, Berchiche; Rego, Jauregizar; N. Williams, Sancet, Navarro; Guruzeta
Anything else catch the eye?
Backing Newcastle to win alongside under 4.5 goals will bring about a 4/5 play on BOYLE Sports that looks well worthy of support.
This formula would have been a winning one in six of the Magpies’ seven victories across all competitions this season.
Elsewhere, backing Newcastle to hit the most corners during this contest also catches the eye at 4/5 with Bet365.
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