Newcastle vs Barcelona Prediction: Toon to give Spanish giants a run for their money

Undoubtedly one of the most enticing ties on the opening week of games from Week 1 of the Champions League comes from the North East of England where fans will be reminiscing about this fixture back in 1997. Faustino Asprilla and all that as Newcastle United welcome in Catalan giants Barcelona.

We've asked our La Liga Betting expert to preview this one and he's put together his thoughts and top betting tips below. You can check out his Newcastle vs Barcelona Predictions here on Betfred Insights...

*For all of our Football Odds then head on over to betfred.com

Newcastle mark their return to the Champions League with a glamour home fixture against FC Barcelona. St James' Park will be rocking at kick-off as the Magpies bid to upset the Spanish champions. 

This will be the fifth time the clubs have met in the competition. Barça have won three of the previous four meetings, but the Geordie faithful can find inspiration from their famous 3-2 win over the Catalan giants on Tyneside in 1997. 

A hat-trick from Faustino Asprilla set up that victory, against a visiting side that featured the likes of Luís Figo, Rivaldo and current PSG boss Luis Enrique. 28 years and one day later, Eddie Howe's men are bidding to write their own slice of history on Thursday night. 

Their chances of doing that have been hampered by a chaotic summer that was dominated by uncertainty over Alexander Isak's future. The Swedish striker finally got his move to Anfield, but it's still early days for the Newcastle boss as he bids to reshape his attack without the player who scored 27 goals in all competitions last term. 

Late arrivals Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade will be expected to fill that void. Wissa's impact will have to wait until after he has recovered from a knee injury, but it was a promising debut from Woltemade, who scored the only goal in a 1-0 home victory over Wolves on Saturday. 

That marked the first win and only the third goal of the season for the Magpies. It has been a slow start, understandable in the circumstances, but a spirited display with 10 men against Liverpool in their previous home game highlights how dangerous they can be when the crowd is involved at St James' Park. 

Barcelona will be expecting a tough game, as they commence their bid to win the Champions League for the first time in more than a decade. They've not reached the final since they last won the trophy in 2015, but Hansi Flick's side came mighty close last term. 

Having seen off Benfica and Borussia Dortmund to reach the last four, Barça were involved in one of the all-time great semi-finals, going down 7-6 on aggregate against Inter. They bossed large chunks of that tie, but the Italians did manage to expose their high line regularly across 210 minutes of thrilling football. 

The Catalans head into this game having taken 10 points from their opening four fixtures in La Liga. They struggled badly away to Rayo Vallecano before the international break, and were somewhat fortunate to come away with a point.  

However, the response was emphatic. Flick's team thumped Valencia 6-0 on Sunday, with Fermín López, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha all bagging braces. 

The nature of that win was particularly significant given it came without the injured Lamine Yamal. Last season, Barça looked a much inferior team whenever the teenager didn't feature. They won 84% of their league fixtures with Yamal as a starter, but only 29% without him. 

Team News: 

Wissa is set to miss out again for the hosts, with the ex-Brentford man potentially sidelined until after the October international break. Fellow summer signing Jacob Ramsey is also out injured. 

Major changes to the side that defeated Wolves are not expected, although Anthony Elanga could be included on the right flank. Woltemade should again lead the line. 

As for Barcelona, Frenkie de Jong has returned to fitness and is available to play in England. However, Yamal has not been included in the squad in a significant blow for the visitors as they kick off their latest Champions League campaign. The away team are also missing Marc-André ter Stegen, Alejandro Balde and Gavi.  

Flick must decide whether to hand a first start of the season to Lewandowski, or stick with Ferran Torres, who has done a good job up top so far this term. 

Match Odds: 

Barcelona are the favourites to win this match at 11/8. However, all three results are certainly on the table, with Newcastle priced at 15/8, while the Draw is available at 11/4. 

If you're expecting another Champions League classic involving these clubs, you can back Both teams to score two or more goals at 9/4. Meanwhile, Over 3.5 goals is on offer at 11/10. 

The hosts are priced at 10/11 to score over 1.5 goals, while you can back Newcastle to win and Over 2.5 goals at 5/2. Alternatively, Barcelona are available at 5/2 to score over 2.5 goals in the contest, a winning bet in a huge 71% of their matches in this competition last term. 

Lewandowski is the favourite to score anytime at 23/20. However, he's not a guaranteed starter, so punters may prefer to back Raphinha to get on the scoresheet at 13/8. Marcus Rashford is also on offer at 7/4 to score on his return to England. 

From a home perspective, you can back Woltemade to score first at 6/1, while the German is priced at 6/4 to score anytime. Anthony Gordon is available at 2/1 in the same market. 

*You can see all of our Newcastle vs Barcelona Odds and betting markets over on betfred.com

Newcastle vs Barcelona TV:

Newcastle vs Barcelona will be the main game on Thursday and will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1. Kick-off is set for 20:00 and you can also stream the match via Discovery+ or SkyGo.

Bet 1 - Newcastle to win either half @ 5/6 

This is shaping up to be a fascinating contest, and Newcastle have got every chance of registering a famous victory. They have pace in attack, and this is the kind of game that could really suit Elanga, one of the quickest players in the Premier League. 

Barcelona always take risks, but there have been signs that their high line is going to be even more vulnerable this term. With Iñigo Martínez no longer at the club, and Joan García now the starting goalkeeper, it's also quite an inexperienced backline. 

Even newly promoted Levante exposed some of those issues in August, when they raced into a 2-0 lead at the break on the second weekend in La Liga. While Barça are never dead, as they showed when they came back to win that fixture, I can see the hosts causing real problems for their defence here, and I'm backing Newcastle to win either half at 5/6. 

Bet 2 - Nick Woltemade 1+ shots on target & Raphinha 1+ shots on target @ 10/11 

Woltemade is a really interesting forward, with many different facets to his game. He obviously boasts a significant aerial threat, with his debut goal coming with his head at the weekend. However, his all-around game is also impressive, and there are many situations where he could potentially test García. 

Without Yamal, Barcelona's main threat may come from Raphinha. He got on the end of a fine cross from Rashford to score the first of his two goals at the weekend, and the Brazilian always seems to shine in this competition. Last season, the former Leeds man was the joint top scorer in the Champions League with 13 goals. He averaged 1.55 shots on target per 90 minutes in Europe. 

I'm expecting both teams to have spells of superiority in this one, and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Nick Woltemade 1+ shots on target and Raphinha 1+ shots on target at 10/11. 

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