Newcastle United v FC Barcelona: Did you know?
The time has finally come and on Tuesday at St. James' Park, kick off 9pm CET, Barça will take on Newcastle United in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie. The blaugranes lead La Liga and on the European front Hansi Flick's team come up against one of the best teams in the Premier League in their attempt to make it to the quarter-finals.
High scorers
Newcastle United undeniably have firepower up front and their 26 goals in 10 matches in this season's competition makes them joint top scorers in the competition alongside Paris Saint Germain. Nevertheless, the French club and the Premier League side have played two more matches than the teams that finished in the top eight of the league phase, given that they both came through the play off round.
History on Barça's side
The two teams have met on five separate occasions in the Champions League prior to Tuesday's game. Barça have taken four wins in that time to Newcastle's one, the most recent coming in the league phase of this season's competition when a Marcus Rashford double gave the blaugranes a 2-1 win at St. James' Park.
Anthony Gordon the danger man
One of the standout performers so far this season in the Champions League has been Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon. The winger has scored 10 goals so far with only Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé with 13 having scored more.
Fermín and Rashford on form in Europe
Two players from the Barça squad who have been excelling in Europe this season are Fermín and Marcus Rashford. Both players have five goals and three assists in the Champions League so far, a vital contribution to the blaugranes finishing in the top eight and gaining a direct place in the last 16. Rashford enjoys playing against the Magpies as he has four goals and two assists in his seven games against the club from the North East of England.
To continue the run
Since losing to Chelsea at the end of November, Barça have won 21 of their last 24 matches in all competitions, losing just three. However, Hansi Flick's team cannot relax as all three of those defeats - against Real Sociedad, Atlético Madrid and Girona - have come away from home.