Eddie Howe challenges Newcastle to break new ground against Barcelona
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has challenged his side to break new ground as they prepare to host Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 at St James’ Park.
The Magpies are preparing for what their head coach recently described as the biggest match in the club’s history.
Having exited the FA Cup at the hands of Manchester City last weekend, the Tyneside outfit are now fully focused on European progression.
Newcastle enter the tie as heavy underdogs against the Catalan giants, especially with the decisive second leg scheduled for the Camp Nou.
Rising to the historic occasion
Howe believes that embracing the sheer scale of this momentous fixture will bring out the very best in his squad.
“I want the club to break new ground and to keep going in this competition having worked so hard to get here.”
“We are going to need to break new ground in terms of performance levels and when we need to perform, there is no better time than these two games.”
This season marks only the second time the North East club has reached the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition.
“There’s only 16 teams left and we are one of them. We don’t want to waste that opportunity and this is a moment for us to grab it.”
Livramento return offers timely boost
The English manager confirmed a mixed injury and illness bulletin ahead of the crucial first-leg encounter.
Key Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes remains sidelined and is not expected to return to action until next month.
However, talented full-back Tino Livramento has resumed training and could feature in the matchday squad.
“He probably hasn’t done enough training to be 100 per cent confident he is in a physical enough state to start.”
“It’s a delicate balance but he trained again this morning, he trained on Friday and it’s a massive boost for us to have him back.”
Overcoming squad illness
The coaching staff are also managing a localised virus that swept through the dressing room over the past week.
Anthony Gordon, Joelinton and Jacob Murphy were all relegated to the bench against Manchester City due to the illness.
“No fresh injuries but we have a little bit of illness in the camp. Hopefully we will have everyone available tomorrow.”
The highly anticipated first leg kicks off on Tuesday evening, before the decisive return fixture in Spain on 18 March at 17:45 GMT.