FC Barcelona begins this Thursday, September 18, the road to a new final of the UEFA Champions League. Hansi Flick's team visits Newcastle at St. James' Park with their sights set on reaching the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, May 30, 2026, after coming close to the decisive match the previous season.
With the thorn of being eliminated in the semi-finals against Inter Milan in a historic tie (7-6 on aggregate), the 'azulgrana' team arrives with a more complete and experienced squad, shielded in defense and attack with the additions of Joan García, Marcus Rashford and Roony Bardghji.
All three will be available on matchday 1, although Barça arrives with three significant absentees and the mission to win on a always complicated field. Facing them will be Eddie Howe's team, now without their main goalscorer in recent years (Alexander Isak), but with a lot of talent line by line, nothing to lose and much to gain in their second European adventure in the last three years.
- 📺 Where and when to watch the match: the channels that broadcast the Newcastle-Barça match SEE
Barcelona seeks to extend its unbeaten run in the 25/26 season against Newcastle
Barça, for the moment, has 3 wins and 1 draw in LaLiga, with a balance of 13 goals in favor and only 3 against. The team left some doubts in Vallecas (1-1) before the first break of the season, but they rediscovered their best version last Sunday against Valencia (6-0).
Despite the absences of Gavi, Alejandro Balde, Lamine Yamal and Frenkie de Jong, Flick's team crushed their rival with braces from Fermín López, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski. Of the four absences mentioned, only Frenkie managed to recover in time to travel to England.
De Jong received medical clearance on Wednesday, unlike Lamine. The '10' suffers from pubalgia that could leave him KO for at least a couple more weeks. Balde also has a few more days out due to an injury to his left thigh, while Gavi's right knee continues to be a problem.
The midfielder, if he does not improve, will undergo an arthroscopy to clean his meniscus. In any case, Barça is confident of maintaining its unbeaten record this season, as well as breaking a streak of two consecutive defeats (Dortmund and Inter) as a visitor in the Champions League.
Flick's team knows that the visit to St. James' Park is highly difficult, even more so with the experience of the debut in the tournament last season. Barça debuted in the 24/25 Champions League with a defeat in Monaco (2-1), but then added six wins in a row to secure their direct passage to the round of 16.
Facing them will be a Newcastle that has had a rather irregular start to the season. The 'magpies' just won their first Premier League match last Saturday (1-0 against Wolverhampton) and have 5 points out of a possible 12, with 3 goals in favor and 3 against. In addition, the history in the Champions League between the two also favors Barça.
| Temp. | Phase | Result. |
|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | Group stage II | NEW 0-2 BAR |
| 2002/03 | Group stage II | BAR 1-0 NEW |
| 1997/98 | Group stage | BAR 1-0 NEW |
| 1997/98 | Group stage | NEW 3-2 BAR |
Hansi Flick prepares some surprises for his lineup against Newcastle
In principle, Hansi Flick plans to make two changes in attack compared to the team that played against Valencia. Raphinha should return to the starting eleven in place of Roony Bardghji, although it would not be surprising if the Brazilian plays on the left and Marcus Rashford takes the place of Lamine Yamal.
Similarly, Lewandowski hopes to regain his starting position for the first time in the 25/26 season, replacing Ferran Torres. Both the Polish player and Rafa are coming off scoring braces on Sunday and are physically ready to hurt Newcastle's defense.
In goal, Joan García will once again be the starter, while Jules Koundé and Gerard Martín will once again be full-backs. The main doubt lies in whether the duo Eric García-Pau Cubarsí will repeat or, failing that, both Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen will return to the XI.
The Dane accompanied Flick in the press conference prior to the match and knows St. James' Park very well after his time at Chelsea. Araujo is also the center-back with the most Champions League matches for Barça in recent years and, not surprisingly, is the first captain. In addition, both have the ideal height and build to neutralize the aerial game of the 'magpies'.
In the center of the field, although De Jong has medical clearance, it is likely that Marc Casadó will repeat as Pedri González's companion, after his good match against Valencia. The same happens with Fermín López, MVP of matchday 4 of La Liga. The player from Huelva, for now, is ahead of Dani Olmo in the fight for the attacking midfielder position.
- ℹ️ Lineups: the possible starting XIs for Newcastle and FC Barcelona: SEE
Barcelona's absentees against Newcastle: Lamine Yamal did not travel to England
Regarding Barcelona's absentees, the most significant, without a doubt, is Lamine Yamal. The 18-year-old winger continues to have discomfort in his pubis and also is likely to miss the match against Getafe next Sunday. As it is an injury in such a sensitive area, the 'azulgrana' medical team is opting to keep him away from the group and could give him a couple more weeks of rest.
In that sense, the '10's priority is to be physically ready for the match of matchday 2 of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, by far the toughest rival of the eight that the 'culés' will face in the group stage. Before his injury, the player from Mataró scored 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 matchdays of La Liga.
Regarding Gavi, there is also a very conservative prognosis, waiting to see how his right knee responds to the traumatological treatment. Balde should be ready, at the latest, on Sunday the 27th against Real Sociedad, for matchday 5 of La Liga. And, as for Ter Stegen, the German continues to work at the Ciutat Esportiva with the hope of receiving medical clearance before the end of the year.
- 📋 Squad list: Barcelona's squad list for the match: SEE
Newcastle seeks to improve its performance from 23/24
Newcastle, on the other hand, arrives with its entire squad available against Barcelona. Coach Eddie Howe could opt for Pope in goal and the experienced Trippier and Livramento as full-backs. The center-back duo, barring any surprises, will be Schär-Burn, while in the center of the field will be the trident formed by Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton.
In attack, Nick Woltemade will be the main threat to the 'azulgrana' defense, a striker that Barça had on its radar last summer. Anthony Elanga and Anthony Gordon should accompany the German in a classic 4-3-3 that hopes to hurt the 'culés' with a vertical and very physical game from minute 1.
For the 'magpies', the return to the Champions League represents a golden opportunity to make up for the disappointing group stage of 23/24. The team from St. James' Park started very well, drawing without goals in Milan (0-0) and thrashing PSG at home (4-1). However, they collapsed after the defeat, also at home, against Dortmund on matchday 3 (0-1).
The second round of the extinct group stage was a nightmare for the 'black and whites', with defeats against Dortmund (2-0) and Milan (0-1), in addition to a draw against Paris (1-1) in France. The team finished last with 5 points, without even being able to play the Europa League play-off. This year, their goal is to enter, at least, the TOP-24 to seek to advance from the phase for the first time since 2003.
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