Newcastle vs PSG preview, team news, tickets, line-ups & prediction

Newcastle United welcome Paris Saint-Germain to St James’ Park for a mouthwatering Champions League clash on Wednesday night.

The Magpies booked their return to Europe’s elite competition for the first time in 20 years after finishing fourth in the Premier League last season. Eddie Howe has done a fantastic job to make Newcastle a force to be reckoned with once again, and the next step is to establish the club as Champions League regulars and competing for major honours.

They have the perfect opportunity to announce themselves on the Champions League scene when they take on Ligue 1 giants PSG tonight. St James’ Park will be rocking and the Geordies will be right behind their team on what should be one of the best European night’s in the clubs history. If Newcastle can beat PSG, it would be a huge statement but it would also put them in a strong position to get out of the group.

Newcastle were drawn in the ‘Group of Death’ in Group F after being paired against PSG, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan. Howe’s men came away with a hard fought 0-0 draw away to Milan in their opening group stage game and they will now look to pick up a vital win over Les Parisiens on home soil.

The Magpies head into the game in excellent form having won their last three games in all competitions. Following the draw in Milan, they humiliated Sheffield United 8-0 in the Premier League with eight different scorers on target at Bramall Lane. They then dumped treble winners Manchester City out of the EFL Cup thanks to a much-deserved 1-0 win at St James’ Park before securing a routine 2-0 league win over Burnley at the weekend. Newcastle have recovered from their slow start to the campaign and now sit eighth in the league table, and Howe will hope to continue their recent good form with a positive result against PSG tonight.

They could be quietly confident of getting a victory as PSG arrive in the north-east of England in inconsistent form. They beat Dortmund 2-0 in their opening Champions League game thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi and followed that up with a 4-0 demolition of Marseille in Ligue 1. However, either side of those games PSG lost at home to Nice and were held to a 0-0 draw by Clermont Foot at the weekend. Those results have left PSG sitting fifth in the Ligue 1 table and new boss Luis Enrique is already under pressure to get their campaign on track.

While PSG may not be at their best, Newcastle will know this will still be an extremely tough game as the French outfit still have a squad packed with world class talent despite losing both Lionel Messi and Neymar in the summer. The likes of Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Marquinhos, Hakimi and Donnarumma are all top class players, and they also signed highly-rated forwards Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos so they will provide a stern test for Newcastle tonight.

Tickets

This is arguably the game of the night and it should be a thrilling match at St James’ Park. Obviously the official tickets sold out weeks ago but you can still buy tickets via trusted ticket resellers such as Seatsnet.

If you aren’t fortunate enough to get your hands on a ticket to attend the match in person, you can still follow all the action live on TNT Sports. Subscribers can watch the game on the TV, or stream on the app via their smartphones or tablets.

Team news

Newcastle will be without Harvey Barnes for the game as he’s facing up to three months on the sidelines with an ankle injury. Joe Willock is also still out with an Achilles injury that’s expected to keep him out until next month while defender Sven Botman is set to miss the game with a knee problem.

Striker Callum Wilson is also expected to miss the visit of PSG due to a hamstring injury so Newcastle have a number of fitness issues to contend with. However, there should be some good news regarding Joelinton. The Brazilian limped off during the win over Burnley at the weekend with a thigh issue. But Howe is confident it was nothing serious and Joelinton should recover in time to face PSG tonight.

Anthony Gordon is suspended for this weekend’s Premier League clash with West Ham but the winger is still available to play in Europe and he should keep his place as he’s been in fine form lately.

PSG have their own injury issues to deal with. Full-back Nuno Mendes has been forced to undergo surgery on a hamstring injury and has been ruled out until 2024. Marco Asensio is also out with a foot problem while Presnel Kimpembe hasn’t made the trip to England due to an Achilles issue.

Goalkeeper Sergio Rico remains out with a head injury but fellow shot-stopper Keylor Navas has recovered from a back injury. Mbappe has made a swift recovery from an ankle knock and completed the full 90 minutes at the weekend so he’s fit to start up front.

Likely Line-ups

Howe is unlikely to make too many changes from the side that beat Burnley at the weekend. The one main change could see Sandro Tonali recalled to start in midfield alongside Bruno Guimaraes. Gordon should keep his place in attack along with Miguel Almiron and Alexander Isak.

Enrique on the other hand is likely to mix things up after a poor result at the weekend. Manuel Ugarte and Warren Zaire-Emery should both be recalled in midfield while Lucas Hernandez should come in for Barcola on the left flank.

Possible Newcastle XI: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Lascelles, Burn; Longstaff, Tonali, Guimaraes; Almiron, Isak, Gordon

Possible PSG XI: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Hernandez; Vitinha, Ugarte, Zaire-Emery; Dembele, Kolo Muani, Mbappe

Prediction

This should be an exciting game and Newcastle will be desperate to prove they belong at Europe’s top table. PSG have the strength and depth to hurt any team in the world, but they won’t fancy playing in front of a passionate Newcastle crowd who will make an intimidating atmosphere at St James’ Park.

Newcastle proved by beating Man City recently that they are a match for any team on their day, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see them snatch a positive result against PSG tonight. If we had to pick a winner it would be the visitors, but we’re backing the Magpies to get a point. Newcastle 2-2 PSG