Newcastle left for Germany today to play Borussia Dortmund in a Champions League encounter that could decide both teams’ fates in Group F. The Magpies and Dortmund share the same number of points, but because of their most recent loss at St. James’ Park, they are now behind the Bundesliga team in the group standings. Eddie Howe’s team could almost certainly qualify for the knockout stages if they win today on foreign soil and move up into the top two spots in the rankings.
With six points, Paris Saint-Germain now leads the group, two ahead of Howe’s squad. Tonight’s matchup between PSG and AC Milan is another crucial group stage match.
But Howe will need to plan to defeat Dortmund even if he will be missing a few important players. Matt Targett, Sandro Tenali, and Jacob Murphy are all recovering from injuries, and Dan Burn has been suspended for ten months.
The midfield is comprised of Joe Willock, Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff, and Fabian Schar. Jamaal Lascelles and Schar will form the central defensive combination. The front three attackers will be Callum Wilson, Joelinton, and Lewis Hall.
Howe was forced to start youthful prospects Lucas De Bolle and Ben Parkinson on the bench for this pivotal Group F match in Germany due to the circumstances. Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almiron won’t be in the starting lineup either. Burn, meantime, has been sidelined for three months because of a back injury he received following a tumble during the Arsenal game.
To make it to the tournament’s last 16, Newcastle understands only a win will put them above Dortmund. Newcastle struck the crossbar twice but lost 1-0 at St. James’ Park in their first meeting.
Howe, the former manager of AFC Bournemouth, entered this game with 12 players out due to suspension, injury, or ineligibility for the group stage. While in Germany, he will also be commemorating his two years as the team’s manager.
Newcastle Are On Top:
Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle are level on points in Group F, so there is extra pressure on the home team to win this time around in the Champions League as they play in Germany. With three points at St. James’ Park, Felix Nmecha’s goal in the 45th minute proved crucial in ending Dortmund’s six-game losing record in England and handed Newcastle their first loss against Bundesliga opponents.
This was only Newcastle’s sixth UEFA competition matchup versus a German club, and it was also the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Dortmund, on the other hand, had 33 encounters with English opponents.
Dan Burn, the left-back for Newcastle, sustained an injury during the game against Arsenal, and he will likely need to miss a significant amount of time. Eddie Howe acknowledged that the team will be greatly missing Burn and voiced his disappointment at his absence.
Burn’s loss is obviously a big setback for the squad since, as I have often noted, he has been a key player since moving to Newcastle and has had a huge influence for a variety of reasons.
Eddie Howe said that the meeting between tonight’s opponents at St. James’ Park, which Newcastle lost 1-0 in their previous Champions League match, was fiercely contested between two evenly matched teams. He’s hoping that the little things will go their way this time.
Newcastle United, who defeated Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday, has firmly denounced the racial taunts hurled at Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock on social media. Arsenal’s perfect start to the Premier League season was halted by Anthony Gordon’s contentious goal in the second half. Willock called on Instagram to identify the perpetrators of the harassment he has received after speaking out about it.
Eddie Howe’s team understands a victory would put them in a strong position to move on to the knockout stages as they prepare to play their fourth group stage match in Germany. A loss, meanwhile, would probably put them behind the top two clubs in the group.
Dortmund will be optimistic about reproducing their victory in front of their home supporters because they had previously defeated Newcastle at St. James’ Park. This will be a challenging game for the black and white team because Howe also must deal with the unavailability of numerous important players.
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