Overview
After a disappointing season, Newcastle is aiming for the final friendly match with Strasbourg as an opportunity to regain confidence before entering a new campaign.
Winning a Champions League spot after finishing in the top 5 of the 2024-2025 Premier League once opened up many expectations for Newcastle. They have the opportunity to bring in notable new players such as Nick Woltemade, Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa to upgrade the squad.
However, the next season took place in a completely opposite direction. For the first time since the 2021-2022 season, Newcastle finished outside the top half of the Premier League table. As a result, a series of major changes appeared in the summer, when captain Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and coach Eddie Howe all left the club.
Matthias Jaissle is tasked with rebuilding Newcastle. The Northeast England team will seek their third consecutive victory against French opponents in a friendly series, after successively defeating Saint-Etienne and Brest at St. James' Park.
On the opposite side, Strasbourg also does not have ideal preparation. They finished Ligue 1 last season in eighth place, only 1 point behind AS Monaco in the race to win tickets to European cups.
Since returning to training on July 20, Strasbourg has played 6 friendly matches and lost all. They only scored 5 goals but conceded 22 goals, including a heavy 0-7 defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the first match.
Strasbourg's difficulties do not only come from the results on the field. Hugo Oliveira's team also witnessed many key players leaving in the summer, notably Valentin Barco and Emmanuel Emegha moving to Chelsea. Goalkeeper Mike Penders also returned to the English team after playing on loan.
Strasbourg really needs a positive performance to close the preparation phase. However, that task is not easy when Newcastle has similar motivation and possesses a slightly better squad quality.
This is only the third time Strasbourg has faced an English opponent in history. The last time, they defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 at home in the Conference League last season, before the Premier League representative won the championship.
Personnel situation
Newcastle will not have the services of Fabian Schar and Lewis Miley in this match as both continue to recover from groin and calf injuries. Valentino Livramento is also likely to be absent due to calf problems.
On the Strasbourg side, striker Joaquin Panichelli continues to be sidelined due to a anterior cruciate ligament injury. The Argentine striker scored 16 goals in Ligue 1 last season, only behind Esteban Lepaul of Stade Rennais.
Strasbourg is also likely not to have Julio Enciso and Abdoul Ouattara, in the context that Ipswich Town is said to have reached a transfer fee agreement for both players.
Expected lineup:
Hornicek, Hall, Botman, Thiaw, Miley, Joelinton, Woltemade, Toure, Barnes, Wissa, Elanga.
Jorgensen, Doue, Omobamidele, Sylla, Chilwell, El Mourabet, Nanasi, Del Blanco, Moreira, Reyna, Goro.
The match between Newcastle and Strasbourg takes place at 10:00 PM on August 16 (Vietnam time).
