Eddie Howe has challenged Newcastle to produce the performance of a lifetime as they aim to win the “biggest game” in the club’s history against Barcelona tonight.
Howe’s side will make only their second appearance in the Champions League last 16 when the Spanish league leaders arrive on Tyneside for a highly anticipated first-leg clash.
But having eased past Azerbaijani underdogs Qarabag in the playoff round, Howe knows Newcastle will have to make a significant step up in class to stun Hansi Flick’s star-studded team.
“We’ve never been in this position in the Champions League before and it’s the best competition there is, so for obvious reasons it’s a massive game in our history,” Howe said.
“We need to approach it that way and we need the supporters to think that way.”
Newcastle famously beat Barca 3-2 thanks to a Faustino Asprilla hat-trick in the clubs’ first Champions League meeting in 1997.
Decades in the doldrums followed, reducing the club to a laughing stock under former owner Mike Ashley. Those dark days included two relegations to the second tier in 2009 and 2016.
Starved of success for so long, Newcastle have enjoyed a welcome renaissance since their Saudi owners took charge in 2021. Barca’s visit is the kind of glamour night that Toon Army has dreamed of since the takeover.
Last season, Newcastle ended a 56-year trophy drought by beating Liverpool in the League Cup final. Now they are hoping to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.
Beating the five-time European champions would be a massive moment in Newcastle’s history, especially as their progress has been in danger of stalling this season. They are languishing in 12th in the Premier League and were knocked out of the FA Cup fifth round by Manchester City on Saturday.
Newcastle have now played 47 matches this season, including 19 in 63 days, a gruelling schedule that has taken a toll on a squad depleted by injuries.
Howe will try to assemble a fresh line-up against Barcelona having rested Dan Burn, Joelinton and Anthony Gordon for the Manchester City clash. “We need to try to find some energy from somewhere that will elevate our performance to a level that we’ve not seen before this season because I think that’s the only way we’ll get through,” he said.
Meanwhile, Liverpool travel to Turkey to face Galatasaray while struggling Tottenham head to Spain to play Atletico Madrid.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
