Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United will be eager to secure a spot in the top eight of the UEFA Champions League when they clash at Parc des Princes on Wednesday.
The curtains will fall on the opening phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League this week. The action on Wednesday will start and end with 18 simultaneous matches, including PSG vs Newcastle United at Parc des Princes.
Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League campaign has gone from looking like a cruise to slipping up so much that they are looking over their shoulders. The French giants were off to a solid start in European football, as they beat Atalanta, Barcelona, and Bayer Leverkusen to rise to the top of the standings.
However, since then, Luis Enrique’s men have won only one more game, dropping to sixth in the standings after last week’s defeat to Sporting CP. So, the PSG boss will be eager to see his team recover and get a victory to secure a spot in the top eight.
On the other hand, Newcastle United’s UEFA Champions League campaign has been on an upward trajectory since suffering a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona on Matchday 1. The Magpies have lost only one of their six subsequent games, and the 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven last week helped them rise to seventh on the table.
However, the Tyneside outfit’s recent form has been inconsistent, typifying the team’s topsy-turvy ride in the 2025/26 season. That 3-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven is the only victory for Eddie Howe’s men in their last four outings, and they dropped to ninth in the Premier League standings after the 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa this past weekend.
PSG came from a goal down to hold Newcastle United to a 1-1 draw when the two teams last clashed at Parc des Princes. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
PSG
Luis Enrique has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The PSG manager may be bereft of the services of only one first-team player vs Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Achraf Hakimi (fitness), Lee Kang-in (thigh), Joao Neves (fitness), and Fabian Ruiz (knee) are close to returning after making progress in their recoveries. So, Matvey Safonov (hand) is the only Paris Saint-Germain player in the treatment room.
Lucas Chevalier is an automatic pick between the sticks, with PSG lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs Newcastle United on Wednesday. The backline will feature Warren Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, and Lucas Hernandez. Hakimi will start if he is fully fit.
As for the midfield unit, Joao Neves should join Vitinha and Ibrahim Mbaye in the middle of the park. Finally, Ousmane Dembele will lead the line for PSG against Newcastle United, with Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Chevalier; Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Pacho, Hernandez; Neves, Vitinha, Mbaye; Doue, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia
Newcastle United
Unlike his counterpart in the Paris Saint-Germain dugout, Eddie Howe has received a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of the trip to Parc des Princes. The Newcastle United manager will be without as many as seven first-team players on Wednesday.
Bruno Guimaraes should be fit and available to return from an ankle injury. However, Joelinton is a short-term absentee after sustaining a groin issue this past weekend against Aston Villa. The Brazilian international has joined Dan Burn (rib), Fabian Schar (ankle), Emil Krafth (knee), Valentino Livramento (hamstring), Jacob Murphy (knock), and William Osula (ankle) in the treatment room.
Nick Pope is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Newcastle United lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs PSG on Wednesday. The backline will feature Kieran Trippier, Malick Thiaw, Sven Botman, and Lewis Hall.
As for the midfield unit, Bruno Guimaraes will join Lewis Miley and Sandro Tonali in the middle of the park. Finally, Yoane Wissa will spearhead the Newcastle United attack against PSG, with Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Miley, Tonali, Guimaraes; Barnes, Wissa, Gordon
Key Stats
- The only previous meetings between PSG and Newcastle United came in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League. The two sides drew their meeting at Parc des Princes (1-1) after Eddie Howe’s side had won 4-1 in the first game at St. James’ Park.
- Wednesday’s clash will be Newcastle United’s tenth away game against a French side in Europe. The Magpies have only managed one victory from the previous nine (D3 L5): 4-0 vs Sochaux in the UEFA Cup in November 2004.
- Since the 2013/14 season, PSG have hosted an English side on 16 occasions in the UEFA Champions League (W8 D4 L4). Those matches have seen a total of 54 goals scored (31 for, 23 against), at an average of 3.4 per game, and both sides have scored at least once in 14 of the 16 fixtures.
- PSG have lost two of their last four UEFA Champions League matches (W1 D1), as many as in their previous 15 combined (W13 L2). They last suffered successive defeats in November 2024, losing to Atletico de Madrid and Bayern Munich.
- Newcastle United have won four of their last six games in the UEFA Champions League (D1 L1), keeping a clean sheet in all four victories. Only league phase leaders Arsenal (5) have won more games to nil in the competition this term.
- Anthony Gordon has been directly involved in eight goals in the UEFA Champions League this season (G6 A2). The last English with more for an English club in a single edition was Raheem Sterling for Manchester City in 2019/20 (9 – G6 A3).
Player to Watch
Ousmane Dembele
While Desire Doue, Anthony Gordon, and Yoane Wissa were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Ousmane Dembele as the Player to Watch for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United at Parc des Princes.
Since the start of 2025, Dembele has been involved in 15 goals in 15 UEFA Champions League appearances (G9 A6). The former Barcelona attacker has 19 assists in the competition, and he could be the fifth Frenchman to assist 20 or more goals, along with Karim Benzema (27), Zinedine Zidane (26), Thierry Henry (25) and Kylian Mbappe (24). However, he will also hope to deliver the goods in front of the goal on Wednesday.
Prediction
PSG 2-1 Newcastle United
With teams ranked sixth to 13th on the same points, those in the top eight cannot afford to slip up, meaning PSG and Newcastle United need three points to secure a spot in the top eight of the UEFA Champions League. So, a closely-contested affair is on the cards, like their meeting in 2023 at Parc des Princes.
With PSG and Newcastle United being two of the most productive teams in the UEFA Champions League this season, we will witness an action-packed clash at Parc des Princes. However, while we must wait until the final moments to see which side wins, Ousmane Dembele will deliver the goods and seal the three points for his team. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for Luis Enrique and his charges.
