Overview
The second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 between Barcelona and Newcastle United is in a balanced position, after coach Hansi Flick's team drew a breathtaking match in the last seconds at St. James' Park.
Barcelona did not show their best form in the away match to England and had to rely on a penalty in the 90+6 minute by Lamine Yamal to leave the field with a draw.
Previously, Harvey Barnes put Newcastle ahead in the 86th minute, after the home team played better for most of the time. However, the historic victory slipped out of Eddie Howe's team.
History is not on Newcastle's side. When drawing in the first leg away from home, Barcelona has won all 10 recent Champions League knockout matches. The last time they were eliminated in a similar situation was against Juventus in the 2002-2003 season.
Returning to Camp Nou, Barcelona is even more formidable. They have scored in the last 16 home matches in the Champions League, a total of 50 goals (average 3.1 goals/match), and won the last 3 matches with a total score of 12-3.
Flick certainly wants to improve the attack after a lackluster performance in the first leg, when Barca only had 2 shots on target. Although slightly better in xG (1.42 compared to 1.3), most came from Yamal's penalty.
However, the Spanish talent is still a big hope. Yamal has participated in 12 goals in the last 11 home matches in the Champions League (6 goals, 6 assists).
Besides, Raphinha is also expected to make a difference after playing lackluster in the first leg, despite just scoring a hat-trick against Sevilla in La Liga.
In the opposite direction, Newcastle still has a basis for hope. They are unbeaten in the last 6 European matches (3 wins, 3 draws) and have just defeated Chelsea in the Premier League.
Barnes continues to be a dangerous spearhead with 9 goals participating in the Champions League this season (6 goals, 3 assists), only behind names like Kylian Mbappe or Anthony Gordon.
In addition, Lewis Hall is also a noteworthy factor when creating the most chances in the first leg.
In terms of force, Barcelona lacks Jules Kounde, Frenkie de Jong, Alejandro Balde and Andreas Christensen due to injuries.
Meanwhile, Newcastle is missing Bruno Guimaraes, Fabian Schar and Lewis Miley, but Sandro Tonali is likely to return.
Head-to-head record
Barcelona have won both times against Newcastle at home in the Champions League, with scores of 1-0 (November 1997) and 3-1 (December 2002).
Meanwhile, Newcastle has very poor performance when playing away against the Spanish representatives. They have lost 5/6 away matches in all competitions, the most recent being a 1-2 defeat to Deportivo La Coruna at the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2005.
The rare exception in this series is the 3-0 victory over Mallorca in the 2003-2004 UEFA Cup season.
Overall, the two teams have met 6 times in European competitions. Newcastle only won 1 match - a 3-2 home win in the group stage in September 1997. Since then, Barcelona has won 4 consecutive matches before the two teams drew in the first leg this season.
Score prediction: Barcelona 2-0 Newcastle
The match between Barcelona and Newcastle takes place at 0:45 am on March 19 (Vietnam time).
