Barcelona v Newcastle LIVE: Champions League prediction, team news and line-ups tonight – UK Times

Speaking to TNT Sports from inside the stadium just now, Howe says: “We performed well a week ago so looking for a similar performance and take a couple more of the chances we got,.

On Barcelona, he adds: “They could slightly tweak things. Both teams are quite consistent in selections. It’ll be how they use the ball in tight situations. We know we have to be at our very best to qualify and that’s what we’ll try to deliver.”

Both sides have four players who are one yellow card away from a one-match ban that would be served in the first leg of next month’s quarter-finals should their team prevail tonight.

Barcelona: Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Gerard Martin and Marc Casado

Newcastle: Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, Dan Burn and Joe Willock

Lamine Yamal made his European debut more than 900 days ago but this is his first knockout match at Camp Nou, which is still very much under construction with yellow cranes visible behind the stands.

The players are just emerging from the tunnel for their warm-ups, with TNT Sports saying that Newcastle are in a temporary changing room that means quite a long walk to the pitch.

No surprises from those starting XIs as Eric Garcia replaces Ronald Araujo in the home defence while up front for Newcastle, as expected, Anthony Gordon replaces Will Osula. Both of last week’s starters have dropped to the bench.

The Magpies have already been out to inspect the Camp Nou surface, not long after some pigeons landed on the hallowed turf.

Barcelona XI: J Garcia; E Garcia,Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Newcastle XI: Ramsdale; Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall; Ramsey, Tonali, Joelinton; Elanga, Gordon, Barnes.

Barcelona XI: J Garcia; E Garcia,Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Newcastle XI: Ramsdale; Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall; Ramsey, Tonali, Joelinton; Elanga, Gordon, Barnes.

Hansi Flick, meanwhile, was emphatic when discussing the La Liga leaders’ goal for this season: nothing short of silverware.

“There’s a lot of quality in the squad, and I think we’re capable of winning this Champions League, though we need to improve,” he said last night. “Right now, the important thing is that everyone is available and at their best. That’s the most important thing heading into the next month.”

Including Lamine Yamal. “He’s the player who can make the difference,” Flick added. “He trained fantastically yesterday and today too.”

Some more from the Newcastle manager here. Asked yesterday what his team needs to advance to the quarter-finals, he unsurprisingly said “a bit of everything.”

“We will try to be ourselves,” he said. “A defensive mentality [like] against Chelsea [whom they defeated at Stamford Bridge on Saturday] – blocking shots, defending in numbers. But also a bit of what we do best – our running capacity, our athleticism. There has been a really good battle between their midfield and ours in both games. We are going to need to be very good in our duels. The battle in midfield will go a long way to deciding the game.”

In his pre-match press conference Eddie Howe said that a win tonight would “probably” be the biggest of his career. But the Newcastle manager is also confident that his team will not “shrink” against their Catalan hosts.

“We have many, many internationals in the squad so I don’t see that as an issue,” he said. “We have enough players who can cause them problems. We’ll enjoy the game, but we’ll only truly enjoy it if we deliver. I think we’re in a good place to do that, and the players are probably as confident as they’ve been in any stage this season. “