Barcelona vs Newcastle preview, prediction, team news, and head-to-head

After playing a 1-1 draw at St. James’ Park last week, the Catalans are in a favourable position to progress to the next round when they play in front of their home fans. However, Newcastle will hope to cause an upset and progress to the next stage.

• Barcelona to win

• Over 2.5 goals

• Raphina to score

It took a last-minute penalty kick from Lamine Yamal for Barcelona to secure a 1-1 draw against Newcastle in the first leg. Hansi Flick has acknowledged that his players didn't play a good game despite not losing away from home.

However, the players will be boosted with the 5-2 hammering of Sevilla over the weekend. The Spanish league leaders are yet to lose a game at the Camp Nou this season, a stat that bodes well for the home side.

Meanwhile, Newcastle were quick to bounce back from the disappointment of conceding a late goal in the first leg against Barcelona by defeating Chelsea over the weekend in a tight match. This is crucial in boosting their confidence that they can get good results away from home.

The Magpies will hope to cause an upset and progress past the round of 16, a feat they have not achieved in the UCL. Beating the La Liga leaders away from home will be a great feat for Eddie Howe and his men.

FC Barcelona has a decent record against Newcastle in the Champions League. In all 6 of their last meetings in the competition, the Spanish giants were victorious on 4 occasions (D1, L1). However, both teams have failed to score in the same match on only two occasions.

Barcelona will be without vice captain Frenkie de Jong, who is joined by full-backs Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde, who are both suffering from hamstring injuries. While Gavi is back from his long injury spell, the Catalans are still hoping for the quick recovery of ex-Chelsea star Andreas Christensen.

On the bright side, Lamine Yamal is fit to start on the right side of the attack and will be assisted by Raphina and Lewandowski or Ferran Torres to make up the front three attack. The team will rely on Pedri's creativity to marshal the midfield against the English side. 

As for Howe, he will still be without Bruno Guimaraes, Fabian Schar, and Lewis Miley, who are all sidelined with various injuries. However, the team will get a boost with the return of Sandro Tonali, who missed the game against Chelsea due to illness. 

Barcelona: J. Garcia; Cancelo, Araujo, Cubarsi, Martin; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski

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

Newcastle is a very fast-paced side, and they will use that to their advantage as they try to break through and beat the Barcelona defensive high line. The major setback for the English side is allowing Hansi Flick’s men to dominate the game. 

While we can’t take it away from Newcastle not to score a goal, we believe that Barcelona will outscore their visitors as they have been ruthless at home this season. The Spanish team is also the favourite to progress to the next stage.

Correct score prediction: Barcelona 3-1 Newcastle 

(Barcelona to progress 4-2 on aggregate)