Newcastle United host Barcelona on Tuesday evening in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie at St. James' Park — the club's first-ever appearance at this stage of the competition. Eddie Howe's side sit 12th in the Premier League and have already been eliminated from the FA Cup, making this their last remaining objective of the season. Barcelona arrive as heavy favourites, four points clear at the top of LaLiga under Hansi Flick, and having beaten Newcastle 2-1 at this same ground during the league phase back in September.
Newcastle head into Tuesday's match off the back of a 1-3 FA Cup home defeat to Manchester City on Saturday, their third loss in the last five games. Their only win in that run came on March 4, when a dramatic late goal earned a 2-1 Premier League victory over Manchester United. The Magpies have looked inconsistent across all competitions, losing three of their last five and conceding in every game. Their Champions League form tells a different story, however — they eliminated Qarabağ FK 9-3 on aggregate in the playoff round, winning the home leg 3-2 on February 24 to book their place in the last 16.
Barcelona arrive in fine form, winning four of their last five across LaLiga and the Copa del Rey. On Saturday, they ground out a 1-0 win away at Athletic Club, with Flick resting several starters ahead of this fixture. That result extended their unbeaten run in LaLiga to seven matches, with their only defeat in that spell coming at Girona on February 16. The Catalans have scored 10 goals in their last four league games and have conceded just once in their last three outings.
These two clubs have met five times in the Champions League, with Barcelona winning three, Newcastle one, and one draw. Newcastle's sole victory came in September 1997 — a famous 3-2 home win in the group stage. More recently, Barcelona won 2-1 at St. James' Park in September 2025 during this season's league phase, with two second-half goals overturning Newcastle's first-half dominance.
My prediction is Double Chance X2 & BTTS at 1.86. Barcelona have won three of their four previous Champions League meetings with Newcastle and arrive in form, while Newcastle have kept a clean sheet in just one of their last five matches across all competitions. A Barcelona win with both teams scoring fits the pattern of their September meeting, where Newcastle created chances but were undone after the break. The xG projection (1.59–1.61) supports a 1-2 finish.