St James' Park is set for a special night on Thursday, when Newcastle United welcome Barcelona for their Champions League opener. It feels like a throwback to the 1990s, with the Magpies back on Europe's biggest stage after missing out last season. For Eddie Howe's men, this fixture isn't just about points it's about making a statement against one of the most established names in the game.
Newcastle haven't had the easiest start domestically, but their weekend win over Wolves came at the perfect time with new signing Woltemade delivering on his debut . It reminded fans of their resilience, and more importantly, it gave the players belief. Barcelona, on the other hand, look every inch the favourites. They've already scored 13 goals in four La Liga games, including a 6-0 demolition of Valencia that saw Lewandowski, Raphinha and Fermin Lopez grab a brace each , and under Hansi Flick, they're playing with sharpness and purpose.
Softfotball understands that Barcelona has tested the ground ahead of the game, with Barcelonas admin uploading a video of the team training on the turf on the clubs official X account .