Newcastle United will be eager to return to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League when they take on Bayer Leverkusen at BayArena on Wednesday.
The curtains will fall on Matchday 6 of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. The action on the day will start with two early fixtures before ending with seven simultaneous games, including Bayer Leverkusen vs Newcastle United at BayArena.
Bayer Leverkusen may have finally started turning things around in the UEFA Champions League after kicking off the 2025/26 campaign with three successive winless results. However, wins over SL Benfica and Manchester City have helped Die Werkself rise to 17th in the standings, and they kept a clean sheet in both games.
Meanwhile, domestic football has brought mixed results for Bayer Leverkusen. The German giants have progressed to the DFB Pokal quarter-finals by beating Borussia Dortmund 1-0 in the round of 16. However, Kasper Hjulmand’s men have lost their last two Bundesliga games, although they remain in the top four on the league table.
On the other hand, Newcastle United’s solid start to the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League season hit a roadblock with a 2-1 defeat to Marseille on Matchday 5. However, the Magpies have been excellent since then, embarking on a three-game unbeaten run in the Premier League to rise to 12th in the top-flight standings.
Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle United have previously clashed twice, with the Tyneside outfit winning 3-1 in both games in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Bayer Leverkusen
Kasper Hjulmand has no new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Bayer Leverkusen manager may be bereft of the services of half a dozen first-team players vs Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Jonas Blaswich (muscular), Equi Fernandez (knee), and Exequiel Palacios (groin) remain in the treatment room. Meanwhile, Axel Tape (match fitness), Alejandro Grimaldo (knock), and Lucas Vazquez (back) face late fitness tests to determine their availability.
Mark Flekken is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Bayer Leverkusen lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him vs Newcastle United on Wednesday. The central defensive unit will feature Robert Andrich, Loic Bade, and Edmond Tapsoba. Meanwhile, Arthur and Ernest Poku will be the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will protect the centre-backs and provide width in the final third. As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Ibrahim Maza and Aleix Garcia. Finally, Patrik Shick will lead the line for Bayer Leverkusen against Newcastle United, with Malik Tillman and Claudio Echeverri being the supporting cast.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Flekken; Andrich, Bade, Tapsoba; Arthur, Maza, Garcia, Poku; Tillman, Echeverri; Schick
Newcastle United
Like his counterpart in the Bayer Leverkusen dugout, Eddie Howe has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to BayArena. The Newcastle United manager will be without five first-team players on Wednesday.
Nick Pope is the most notable absentee as he continues to recover from a groin injury. The veteran English goalkeeper accompanies Sven Botman (back), Emil Krafth (knee), Kieran Trippier (hamstring), and William Osula (thigh) in the treatment room.
Aaron Ramsdale will deputise for Nick Pope between the sticks, with Newcastle United lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday. The backline will feature Valentino Livramento, Malick Thiaw, Fabian Schar, and Lewis Hall.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, and Joelinton in the middle of the park. Finally, Nick Woltemade will spearhead the Newcastle United attack against Bayer Leverkusen, with Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ramsdale; Livramento, Thiaw, Schar, Hall; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Barnes, Woltemade, Gordon
Key Stats
- The previous meetings between Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle United came in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League campaign, with the Magpies winning 3-1 in both ties (group stage, second round).
- Newcastle United are winless in their last three games against German sides in European competition (D1 L2), with both defeats coming under Eddie Howe: 0-1 at home and 0-2 away versus Borussia Dortmund in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League.
- Bayer Leverkusen have won two of their last three UEFA Champions League games against English opposition (L1), including on Matchday 5 away to Manchester City (2-0). That is as many wins as across their first 17 meetings with English teams in the competition (D4 L11).
- Bayer Leverkusen have won their two most recent UEFA Champions League games without conceding. They last won three successive UEFA Champions matches in the 2014/15 group stage, and never before have they won three consecutive games with a clean sheet in the competition.
- Newcastle United have won only one of their five away games in the UEFA Champions League since their return to the competition in the 2023/24 season (D2 L2), despite scoring first in three of those (W1 D1 L1). The clash in Matchday 5 against Marseille saw the Magpies lose an away game in which they led for the first time in the competition.
- Only Bayern Munich (6) have scored more goals in the opening 20 minutes of UEFA Champions League games this season than Newcastle United (3). The Magpies have done so in their last two games. Their sixth-minute opener in the 2-1 defeat to Marseille on Matchday 5 was their second-earliest away goal in the competition after Shola Ameobi’s fifth-minute strike at Bayer Leverkusen in February 2003.
Player to Watch
Patrik Schick
While Nick Woltemade, Anthony Gordon, and Claudio Echeverri were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Patrik Schick as the Player to Watch for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League clash between Bayer Leverkusen and Newcastle United at BayArena.
Schick scored only once across his first 28 UEFA Champions League appearances. However, he has since netted in successive outings (Matchday 4 vs Benfica, Matchday 5 vs Manchester City). The only previous Czech player to score in three consecutive games in the competition was Jan Koller for Borussia Dortmund in 2002/03 (three and four-match runs). Expect Schick to be the go-to man for Kasper Hjulmand on Wednesday.
Prediction
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Newcastle United
Newcastle United’s return to the UEFA Champions League has been a mixed bag, and they have not been at their best on the road. Additionally, the Magpies have not been solid enough at the back throughout the 2025/26 season, and they have looked defensively vulnerable thus far.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen’s defensive issues will keep Newcastle United in the hunt this midweek, and a closely-contested affair is on the cards. However, Patrik Schick will deliver the goods for the home side, and The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Kasper Hjulmand and his charges.
