Newcastle United’s biggest game of the season takes place on Wednesday (March 18th) when Eddie Howe’s men travel to Camp Nou and face Barcelona.
A 1-1 draw in the first leg last Tuesday came in heartbreaking circumstances for the Toon Army. Harvey Barnes gave the Magpies a much-deserved lead with a fine finish in the 86th minute.
Howe’s men looked on course to claim one of their most famous victories in European football. That was until Malick Thiaw gave away a penalty right at the death and Lamine Yamal sent Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way from the spot.
It means it’s all to play for in the second leg, and if Newcastle are to prevail, they will have to do so on Catalonian soil. Howe’s team will take confidence from that game and a first league win over Chelsea (1-0) at Stamford Bridge since 2012 on Saturday.
Cubarsi talks a big game
Barca head into the game also in high spirits after comfortably beating Sevilla 5-2 on Sunday. Hansi Flick’s men are top of La Liga and will be eager to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Pau Cubarsi believes the Catalans will get the job done and knock the Premier League club out of the competition. The Barca defender said:
“Wednesday’s game…I’m sure we willl go through.“
Barca haven’t enjoyed the best European campaign, finishing fifth during the league phase. Flick’s side won five and lost two of eight games.
Cubarsi added:
“Because we going to give it everything. Whoever we face after that [in the Champions League quarter-finals], we will be willing to give our all.”
That’s a big claim to make given how the first leg between the two sides panned out. Newcastle were the better side and arguably deserved to come away with a victory.
Howe admitted he was frustrated that his team couldn’t take advantage in the tie, given their impressive performance. If they can replicate that display at Camp Nou, it bodes well.
Flick hopes to make Barcelona tick
Newcastle will have to pull out one of the greatest nights in the club’s history to advance to the quarter-finals. Playing Barcelona away is always a daunting prospect, but doing so after their victory over Sevilla only makes it that much harder.
While Barca dominated on Sunday evening, Flick wasn’t overly thrilled with the performance. The German coach assessed the match and explained why he wants to see improvement against the Magpies.
Flick told reporters:
”A lot of things were good, but at times we did not play with the conviction I want to see in my team. This is a huge week, we need to be at 100% on Wednesday because otherwise we are out of the Champions League. We need to do things better,” he told reporters.
He added:
“We need to focus; Newcastle is a very good team… When we lost possession, we could have pressed better. Now the Champions League is coming up, and it’s important to do well.”
Barca’s only loss at Camp Nou in the Champions League this season came against Paris Saint-Germain (2-1). They have otherwise been faultless on their home turf, including wins over Olympiacos (6-1) and Copenhagen (4-1).
