Qarabag vs Newcastle live: Magpies make 2,500-mile trip for crucial Champions League knockout play-off
Can Newcastle put one foot into the Champions League last 16?
Newcastle will hope not to return from their 5,000-mile round trip to Baku empty-handed as they take on Qarabag in the first leg of their Champions League knockout play-off tie.
The Magpies just missed out on the top eight after drawing with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain on the final league phase matchday, with the gutsy result not enough to spare them of the ever-perilous play-offs.
And while the Premier League season is going anything but to plan for Eddie Howe, the Newcastle boss will look to build on progression in the FA Cup with another triumph in Europe.
Travel aside, Newcastle have been dealt a rather favourable draw and have go into this clash as the strong favourites, with Qarabag’s last European outing seeing them thrashed 6-0 by Liverpool.
However, the Azerbaijani outfit have proved a formidable foe on home soil this term, beating Eintracht Frankfurt and holding Chelsea to a draw during the league phase. Could they cause another upset and put pressure on the return leg on Tyneside?
Follow all the action from Newcastle’s clash with Qarabag in our live blog below:
A long way to go
Newcastle United's journey of 2,529 miles to Qarabag will be the longest ever distance travelled by an English team for a Champions League away match.
A poor track record
Qarabag are winless in four home games against English sides in Europe, losing and failing to score in three of those.
They did avoid defeat in the most recent one, however, drawing 2-2 with Chelsea on in the Champions League this season.
England vs Azerbaijan
This will be the 10th European meeting between sides from Azerbaijan and England (all involving Qarabag), with the English side unbeaten and winning on eight occasions.
Newcastle team to take on Qarabag
Newcastle XI: Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Willock; Elanga, Gordon, Barnes; Woltemade
Can Newcastle reach the last-16?
"Of course, it means everything to us currently,” said Eddie Howe. “You look at the history of the club, this is a new opportunity for us - to get to the last 16 of this competition would be an incredible achievement, and we're trying to embrace it in that way.
"We're trying to look at the excitement and the possibility, rather than feel too much of the burden of the pressure of the occasion. We want to turn these moments and these games into history opportunities, into moments that people talk about for a long, long time.
"There's a real excitement with this game and the travel and the number of supporters we're bringing. It's all set to be a great occasion. Then, of course, we have to do our bit, we have to bring our A game, and we have to approach the game in the right way, in terms of our attitude. I know we will."
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Newcastle will miss Guimaraes
Bruno Guimaraes has made 13 defensive line-breaking passes in the Champions League this season, at least twice as many as any other Newcastle player (6 by Sandro Tonali and Kieran Trippier).
Overall, Joshua Kimmich (16) and Joey Veerman (15) were the only players who made more than the Brazilian in this season’s league phase.
Howe not expecting similar scoreline as Liverpool game
In the final match of the league phase Qarabag were hammered 6-0 by Liverpool at Anfield and the reaction to that is to say Newcastle should be able to manage against them in a similar way.
"I've watched a lot of Qarabag in the build-up to this game and I watched both of (their games against Liverpool and Chelsea),” Howe said.
“The Liverpool scoreline was not reflective of the game at all - Qarabag made a really good, bright start to that game, had a number of chances, looked really threatening with the ball and showed that high technical level.
“They've got some dangerous players.”
Guimaraes doing rehab in Brazil
Another major update from Howe concerned the status of Bruno Guimaraes.
The injured Newcastle captain will be undergoing rehab with the Brazilian national team before returning to Newcastle as he moves closer to recovery.
Howe explained: "He spoke with our medical team, and we've been in consultation with the Brazilian national team so he's going to do the first part of his rehab with the Brazilian national team, and then come back to us for the last four weeks.
"I think it's a good mix for Bruno; in the initial stages he won't be able to do too much, he gets a sort of mental refresh while doing some good work, and then comes back to finish off his final part of his rehab."
The four teams that show why the Champions League play-offs work
The mistake may be to see it through the lens of the continental superpowers. The Champions League’s knockout phase play-offs could perhaps do with a punchier name than Uefa’s unwieldy tag. For those who assume their destination is much deeper into the tournament, it can seem a punishment, an unwanted extra couple of fixtures jammed into February.
Yet for many of its participants, it is an opportunity. Under the previous format, some were unaccustomed to Champions League football after Christmas.
The four teams that show why the Champions League play-offs work
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