Newcastle set for PSG test in Champions League

Newcastle set for psg test in champions league0

If Newcastle wants to avoid having to play in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 20 years, they have to overcome the strength of Paris Saint-Germain and an increasing injury list on Tuesday.

After suffering devastating back-to-back losses to Borussia Dortmund, Eddie Howe’s team is now bottom of an extremely challenging Group F that also includes AC Milan, the runners-up from the previous season.

If Newcastle hopes to make it to the round of sixteen, they have to avoid losing in the capital of France.


When Howe’s team defeated PSG 4-1 on Tyneside in October, qualification appeared to be well within reach.

But despite Newcastle’s financial support from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, things have since fallen apart due to an injury issue.

Against popular belief, Newcastle did not spend their newly acquired cash in the transfer window extravagantly compared to elite Premier League teams.

Sandro Tonali, the team’s lone high-profile summer acquisition, received a 10-month suspension for breaking betting regulations while he was at Milan.

Since moving from Leicester, Harvey Barnes has missed the majority of the season with an injury, and youthful full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento have only recently been called into action because of other players’ ailments.

Even though Newcastle had incredible fortitude to defeat Chelsea 4-1 on Saturday even though they were missing 13 first-team players, the decision to be more cautious in the transfer market is now paying a price.

Key players Dan Burn, Callum Wilson, Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff, and Sven Botman are among those who are probably going to be sidelined once more at the Parc des Princes.

Howe remarked, “You look at the players who were missing and that was a giant performance from the players we have fit,” following Chelsea’s rout at St. James’ Park.

Howe worries, though, that his injured team has already used up all of its reserves before playing PSG, who have Kylian Mbappe at the centre and are gunning for a final 16 spot.

For his bench over the weekend, Howe had to select three goalkeepers and several teenagers.

The way the French champions were destroyed in their first Champions League home game in twenty years seemed to be a declaration of purpose from a rising force in European football.

Newcastle wants to become a state-backed team that can rule English football and take over Europe, much like Manchester City did.

However, Howe does not currently have a team full of superstars ready to go up against the best in the Champions League.

When Howe came over just two years ago, players like captain Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar, Longstaff, Joelinton, and Miguel Almiron were a part of a team fighting relegation.

Before ultimately raising the trophy in June during their 12th consecutive season in the competition, City had to endure a great deal of growing pains on the Champions League stage.

Newcastle’s unexpected ascent to the top four of the Premier League the previous season was matched with by far the hardest Champions League group drawn for this season.

They may have needed a reality check playing the greatest teams in Europe, but if they can keep Mbappe quiet like they did in October and give PSG another crushing defeat, they will still be fighting for a spot in the round of 16.

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