At a glance
- Yamal was benched ahead of Newcastle clash
- Barcelona still have plenty of talent
- Eddie Howe’s game plan could change
Newcastle United face Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday, with the Spanish side being careful over Lamine Yamal’s fitness heading into the game.
Yamal played a key role in the first leg as he won and converted a late penalty that Barcelona got late into added time, as they drew 1-1 at St James’ Park. However, he had a tough evening against Lewis Hall, kept quiet throughout the game on English soil.
The 18-year-old came on in the second half against Sevilla, where Hansi Flick’s side won 5-2, as they maintained their four-point advantage at the top of La Liga. He is expected to be in, as he pushes for a spot in the starting lineup for the match against Newcastle.
Barcelona without Yamal
Following their victory over Sevilla, Barcelona released a statement. “Lamine Yamal, who missed the Wednesday workout because he was feeling unwell, is back to his usual self and trained as normal.”
Yamal missed the league phase game between the two clubs, which Barcelona won 2-1 back in September. He played in the first leg, where they drew 1-1, but it was the first time in his career that the 18-year-old failed to complete a dribble due to Hall’s dominant defensive display.
The Spanish wonderkid has been hugely important for Barca in the Champions League this year, registering four goals and three assists. The only Blaugrana players with more goal contributions in the competition are Marcus Rashford and Fermin Lopez.
| Lamine Yamal (UCL 2025/26) | Stats |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 7 |
| Goals | 4 |
| Assists | 3 |
| Goal conversion | 17% |
| Dribble success rate per game | 54% |
| Duels won per game | 57% |
| Big chances created | 6 |
| Key passes per game | 2.3 |
| Champions League Team of the Week | 2 |
If the Spanish giants are without Yamal, they still have plenty of attacking options, like Rashford, Robert Lewandowski, and Raphinha, who scored a hat trick on the weekend. Flick will also be hoping his side can perform better in the second leg, after they struggled to get much going in England.
In the press conference following the game, the German manager said, “We didn’t play a good game with the ball”. He continued, “We lost possession too many times, and we made a lot of mistakes.”
Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes is looking for more of the same, outside of the result, as he wants to ‘make their lives miserable’ at the Camp Nou.
Newcastle’s game plan
If Yamal doesn’t start against the Magpies, Eddie Howe may decide to tweak some of the tactics that he applied on Tuesday.
Barcelona used 20-year-old Roony Bardghji against Sevilla on the weekend. While he is another talented attacker within Barcelona’s squad, he doesn’t pose the same threat as Yamal.
Hall may be given more attacking freedom at the Camp Nou, or Howe may decide to start Tino Livramento, who made his first start since January in a 1-0 win against Chelsea on Saturday.
While Barcelona still have some of the best players in the world, the 18-year-old would be a huge miss if he isn’t 100% fit, and Newcastle would relish their chances of progressing if Barca are without their star man.
