Newcastle United will welcome Ligue 1 champions PSG to St. James’ Park for an exciting Champions League Group F clash on Wednesday night.
It is Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League group stage, and sparks will be flying on Tyneside as Newcastle United are set to host PSG in Group F in what could be a crucial game. The double-headers come up next. So, some points won here could be vital for progression to the knockout rounds.
Newcastle head into this cracker of a match-up with precious momentum and a belief that anything is possible at St. James’ Park in the club’s first home game in the Champions League in more than two decades, especially after seeing off Manchester City — albeit a weakened side from both sides—in front of their own fans just a week ago.
They got the job done with a routine 2-0 win against Burnley, following a superb long-range strike from Miguel Almiron and a late penalty from Alexander Isak. The Magpies are now unbeaten in five games in all competitions, winning four and drawing the other against AC Milan in the San Siro, which will probably be regarded as a good result when the group stage of this season’s Champions League is over.
Eddie Howe’s side have netted 12 goals and kept five successive clean sheets in the process. PSG, meanwhile, were held to a goalless draw by lowly Clermont Foot last time out. The result marked the Parisians’ worst start to a season under uber-rich owners Qatar Sports Investment ahead of the Ligue 1 champions’ trip to Tyneside on Wednesday night.
The visitors are far from hitting their full potential under new boss Luis Enrique and are certainly not as dominant as usual in Ligue 1 this season. It is still early in the season, but they are languishing fifth in the French top flight with just 12 points from seven league games (W3 D4), two points fewer than table-toppers AS Monaco and Brest.
Luis Enrique’s side beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in their glamour Champions League opener. But they will have a tricky task to turn on the style in front of an electric St. James’ Park and up against an in-form Newcastle side.
Team News and Tactics
Newcastle United
The @ChampionsLeague returns to St. James' Park on Wednesday! 😍
🔜 @PSG_inside pic.twitter.com/LlNyKinuf3
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) October 2, 2023
Newcastle United were going to be tested at some point this season. They were going to lose key players, and injuries and bans would expose their squad’s lack of depth.
The Magpies have already lost the spine of their team to injuries of varying severity and could be without their best centre-back, Sven Botman, their midfield tank, Joelinton, the dynamic Joe Willock, their most reliable source of goals, Callum Wilson, and new winger Harvey Barnes.
Joelinton, for one, only made his return from injury on Saturday against Burnley. But the Brazilian international only lasted four minutes before being withdrawn. However, instead of losing momentum, they have gained it in the recent stretch of games.
Electric in-form winger Anthony Gordon is available for Wednesday’s game and will start; however, he will be suspended for Newcastle’s next Premier League game against West Ham due to yellow card accumulation. Since Sean Longstaff’s return to fitness, Newcastle’s midfield has looked far more balanced and secure, allowing Bruno Guimaraes to play with far more freedom.
When Newcastle splashed the cash to bring Sandro Tonali from AC Milan over the summer, Longstaff looked like the player who was being replaced. But his athleticism, football intelligence, and defensive solidity have made him irreplaceable. Young Elliot Anderson is improving with every game in the left-sided midfielder role but could make way for a much more experienced Tonali given the stature of the fixture.
It is not just in midfield where Newcastle’s squad players are stepping up to the plate. In defence, club captain Jamaal Lascelles, who had not started a Premier League game at St. James’ Park for 19 months, impressed again at the weekend alongside Fabian Schar at centre-back and could well lead the side out of the tunnel on Wednesday.
Goalkeeper Nick Pope was the hero on his Champions League debut last time out as Eddie Howe’s men battled to a hard-fought point at San Siro. And the Englishman will certainly be a busy man in between the sticks here. The same goes for Kieran Trippier and the towering Dan Burn, who are set to face off against the formidable trio of Achraf Hakimi, Kylian Mbappe, and Ousmane Dembele.
With Wilson suffering from a hamstring injury, Eddie Howe won’t feel too hard done by, as he has more than capable reinforcement in Alexander Isak, while Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almiron will be the true workhorses for Newcastle’s suffocating press-from-front strategy.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Lascelles, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Tonali; Almiron, Isak, Gordon
Paris Saint-Germain
Luis Enrique will be without several players for their trip to Tyneside, albeit not to the same extent or severity as his counterpart in the opposite dugout. Marco Asensio remains out with a foot issue, while a serious hamstring injury will rule Nuno Mendes out of action until the start of 2024.
Goalkeepers Sergio Rico and Keylor Navas, as well as defender Presnel Kimpembe, are also unlikely to make the squad. On a much more positive note, World No. 1 Kylian Mbappe played 90 minutes against Clermont Foot after shaking off an ankle issue picked up in the emphatic 4-0 victory over rivals Marseille previously and is likely to start at St James’ Park.
Although they initially set up in a 4-3-3 shape, Enrique has switched to a 3-4-3 in recent weeks due to the absence of a natural left-back. And we should see that system deployed again at St. James’ Park, which will allow attack-minded wing-back Achraf Hakimi the freedom to maraud forwards even more.
Nos Parisiens ont reçu #FC24 😍🎮 !
Vous aussi jouez dès maintenant ! ⤵️@EASPORTSFC
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) October 2, 2023
Gianluigi Donnarumma is the preferred pick between the sticks for Enrique, with Marquinhos and Milan Skriniar set to be the two starting centre-backs for the Parisians. Lucas Hernandez will start as a left-back but could tuck in to form a three-man central defence in-game.
Manuel Ugarte’s aggression and defensive prowess will be relied upon by Enrique to compete against a physical Newcastle United midfield. Vitinha, meanwhile, is less robust. But that is compensated by supreme guile and creativity in possession, while 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery is emerging as one of Europe’s best young midfielders.
Enrique could rotate his options up top, with Goncalo Ramos replacing Randal Kolo Muani, flanked by the supreme talents of Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, the latter of whom has not enjoyed the most productive start in Paris so far but has the ability to produce magical moments when on song.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Marquinhos, Skriniar, Hernandez; Hakimi, Vitinha, Ugarte, Zaire-Emery; Dembele, Ramos, Mbappe
Key Stats
- Wednesday’s showdown at St. James’ Park will be Newcastle’s first Champions League outing at St. James’ Park since August 2003.
- Newcastle United are unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions and have kept five consecutive clean sheets.
- PSG have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three games.
- Only two clubs have won at St. James’ Park this calendar year (Liverpool and Arsenal).
Player to Watch
Bruno Guimaraes
While we could have easily gone with fancy attacking names across the two teams, including Kylian Mbappe and Alexander Isak, one player who could have a telling impact on the midfield proceedings will be Newcastle’s tempo-setter, Bruno Guimaraes.
The 25-year-old struggled to reach his usual high standards during the opening month of the Premier League season. But he has returned to form with a string of eye-catching performances since the international break for Brazil.
Used largely as a holding midfielder, providing a solid base, tenacity to win the ball back, and sensible ball retention, Guimaraes has shone in a deeper role thanks to his exceptional range of passing, one-of-a-kind press resistance, and passing through the lines.
Newcastle’s midfield trio’s ability to seamlessly adapt to different roles has transformed the Brazilian international into a real force when orchestrating attacks further up the field. Therefore, should PSG provide him with ample time and room to distribute the ball from midfield, they might find themselves walking on thin ice.
Prediction
Newcastle United 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain
Although Sven Botman’s injury would be a major blow to Newcastle United, they go into Wednesday night’s huge UEFA Champions League game against PSG with real momentum. And Eddie Howe’s side is certainly not about to roll out the welcome mat for Kylian Mbappe and co.
The Magpies have shown commendable defensive resilience over the past few weeks. Add to that a raucous St. James’ Park powering Howe’s trademark press, and they can make life incredibly tough for the visitors.
Despite PSG’s inconsistencies at the start of the season, they still boast a star-studded attack filled with supremely talented difference-makers who will be difficult to keep quiet this midweek. All in all, this has all the ingredients for a high-scoring thriller, which could well end up with Newcastle earning yet another important point at the start of their group campaign.
