Newcastle United will be looking to stay alive in the Champions League when they travel to Parc des Princes to face Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday evening.
The Magpies find themselves at the bottom of Group F following a 2-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in Germany last time out, and it is likely they will need to win both remaining games in order to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Starting with PSG, who the Toon Army smashed 4-1 in October in what was their first Champions League fixture at St James’ Park after two decades. However, the Les Parisians, who are second in Group F with second points, will go into this high-voltage fixture in high spirits after beating AS Monaco 5-2 in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Newcastle United Team News
Newcastle United suffered another injury blow last week when Joe Willock suffered an Achilles injury in training before the game against Chelsea. He has joined a long injury list that includes), Jacob Murphy (shoulder), Sven Botman (knee), Harvey Barnes (foot), Sean Longstaff (foot), Dan Burn (back), Callum Wilson (thigh), Elliot Anderson (back), Javier Manquillo (hip) and Matt Targett (thigh).
Sandro Tonali is serving a 10-month suspension following illegal betting activity, but on-loan left-back Lewis Hall returns to the squad after being ineligible to face his parent club, Chelsea. Eddie Howe will be hopeful of having Sean Longstaff back for the trip to Paris after the midfielder missed the 4-1 win over Chelsea with an ankle problem.
Predicted Newcastle United lineup vs PSG (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Newcastle are likely to line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Nick Pope guarding the goal. The England international must produce a top performance to keep a clean sheet against PSG.
Defence
As Sven Botman is still out injured, Jamaal Lascelles should continue partnering with Fabian Schar in central defence. Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento will continue as the full-backs, and they will look to protect the central defenders and provide width going forward.
Potentially up against a front three of Kylian Mbappe, Goncalo Ramos and Ousmane Dembele, the Newcastle defence will need to work extremely hard and communicate immensely well to earn a clean sheet in Paris.
Midfield
There is hope of Sean Longstaff recovering from an ankle problem in time to face PSG. If he returns, the Englishman should replace Lewis Miley from the game against Chelsea, joining Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton in the Magpies’ engine room.
The trio will look to keep things tidy in the middle of the park for the visitors, as well as disrupt PSG’s rhythm of play.
Attack
Newcastle will seek creativity and flair from their wingers Miguel Almiron and Anthony Gordon. The duo have to be brave and competent with and without the ball to cause problems for the PSG backline.
Of course, Eddie Howe’s side will look to Alexander Isak for inspiration in attack in the injury absence of Callum Wilson. Isak marked his return from injury with a goal against Chelsea, and he should go into the game in Paris in high spirits.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.