FC Barcelona aim to secure a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter finals when they host Newcastle United in the second leg of the Round of 16 at Camp Nou on Wednesday evening.
The first leg at St James’ Park ended in a 1-1 draw, with Barcelona snatching a late equalizer from the penalty spot, leaving the tie finely balanced ahead of the return leg.
This will be the third meeting between the two sides this season, with the Catalan club having previously secured a 2-1 victory in their earlier encounter during the league phase.
Barcelona will look to capitalize on home advantage and strong attacking form, having failed to score in just one of their last 29 matches in the competition. However, defensive concerns remain, as they have not kept a clean sheet in their last 12 Champions League games.
Attention will also be on rising star Lamine Yamal, who is on the verge of a significant milestone.
The young forward needs just one more goal to equal the record held by Kylian Mbappé for the most Champions League goals scored before turning 19, with the French star having netted 10 times before reaching that age.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are competing at this stage for the first time in their history after an impressive playoff victory over Qarabag, winning 9-3 on aggregate.
The English side finished 12th in the league phase, while Barcelona secured fifth place to book their 20th appearance in the knockout stages.
With both teams eyeing a place in the quarter finals, the stage is set for a tightly contested and high intensity encounter in Barcelona.
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