Newcastle vs Barcelona – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Blaugrana won 2-1 at St. James’ Park in September. The Magpies have lost seven of their last 13 matches and five of their last eight games at home.

Newcastle Form

Newcastle are in a difficult run of form. Their last 13 matches have seen seven defeats. At home, it’s five losses in eight matches. They won 2-1 at Tottenham in the league and 3-1 at Aston Villa in the FA Cup. They beat Qarabag 9-3 on aggregate in the Champions League after winning 6-1 away.

A 2-1 loss at Man City was followed by beating Qarabag 3-2 at home in the second leg. Newcastle have lost two of their last three home matches. A 3-2 loss to Everton on Tyneisde was followed by a very late 2-1 home win victory with ten men vs Man Utd. On Saturday, they lost 3-1 at home to Man City to exit the FA Cup.

Newcastle Team News

Eddie Howe remains without Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth in defence. Tino Livramento is available again, whilst Jacob Ramsey returns after a domestic suspension.

Bruno Guimaraes and Lewis Miley will play no part in midfield due to injury. Joelinton, Dan Burn and Anthony Gordon will all return to the starting XI after partial rests in the last match.

Newcastle Motivation

Newcastle and their faithful fans will be rocking for this game. Expect a high-octane, intense display in this match.

Eddie Howe’s side have not been at their best of late at home. They need a first-leg win ahead of a trip to Catalunya next week.

Barcelona Form

Barcelona sit four points clear in La Liga with 11 matches left to play. A 3-0 home win over Mallorca in February made it seven straight victories. A shock 4-0 defeat away to Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg was followed by a 2-1 league loss at Girona despite having 27 shots.

They’ve bounced back with four straight victories. A 3-0 home win over Levante saw 2.88 xG produced. They put up 3.20 xG in a 4-1 home win vs Villarreal as Lamine Yamal scored a hat-trick. A 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the second leg was not enough as they lost 4-3 on aggregate. On Saturday, they scraped past Athletic Bilbao 1-0.

Barcelona Team News

Gavi is still on his way back from a serious knee injury. Andreas Christensen and Alejandro Balde will play no part in defence.

Jules Kounde is absent at right back in a major blow, whilst Frenkie De Jong is also ruled out. Eric Garcia is expected to deputise at right back. Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha will return to the XI after featuring for only 30 minutes in the last match.

Barcelona Motivation

Hansi Flick’s side only knows one way to play. They will go to Newcastle and look to attack, with a high defensive line.

Barcelona will look to win this match ahead of next week’s return fixture.

Key Stats

• Newcastle have lost 6 of their last 13 matches (all competitions).
• Newcastle have lost 5 of their last 8 home matches (10 wins in 12 at home before that)
• Barcelona have won 10 of their last 12 matches
• Barcelona have 10 wins in their last 12 away matches
• Barcelona’s Yamal has scored 9 goals in his last 11 matches

Verdict

An exciting match awaits. It may be worth backing 4+ goals in the fixture and Yamal to score.

Best Bet: Over 3.5 goals at 2.10

Alternate Bet: Barcelona win/draw double chance and both teams to score at 2.05

Goalscorer Tip: Yamal to score anytime at 2.95