English Newcastle United faces Spanish Barcelona in the 'biggest game' in its history on Tuesday (12:00 UAE time) in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, according to their coach Eddie Howe. Newcastle is playing in the Round of 16 for only the second time when the leader of the Spanish league visits St James' Park. For the first time since the 2002-03 season, when the team reached the second round (group stage), Newcastle is back among the final 16 clubs in Europe's premier competition. However, after easily overcoming Azerbaijani Qarabag in the playoff to reach the Round of 16, Howe fully realizes that his team needs to elevate its level to surprise the star-studded team of German coach Hansi Flick. Howe said, 'We have never found ourselves in this position in the Champions League before, which is the best possible tournament, so obviously, it's a massive game in our history.' He added, 'We have to approach it with that mindset, and we need the fans to think the same way.' In their first Champions League encounter in 1997, Newcastle stunned the Catalan giant with a 3-2 win thanks to a hat-trick from Colombian Faustino Asprilla in the group stage before losing the return leg 0-1. At that time, Newcastle was one of the most entertaining English clubs, before entering decades of suffering, becoming a laughingstock under its former unpopular owner Mike Ashley. That period saw the team relegated to the second tier (Championship) in 2009 and 2016. After long years without success, Newcastle has started to regain its shine since its ownership was taken over by the Saudis in 2021. Barcelona's visit is one of those glittering nights that the club's fans have dreamed of since the ownership change. In the last season, Newcastle ended a 56-year title drought by beating Liverpool in the League Cup final. Now, the team hopes to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time. Beating the five-time European champions would be a huge historical moment for Newcastle, especially given that its current season is not as Howe, the fans, and the club's management would like, as the team sits 12th in the Premier League and was eliminated from the fifth round of the FA Cup by Manchester City on Saturday. The players were booed after a 2-3 loss to Brentford at St James' Park earlier this season, while Howe struggles to balance the club's ambitions with the financial rules that have crippled his ability to leverage the vast wealth of his owners. After being forced to sell Swedish star Alexander Isak to Liverpool in September, Newcastle failed to regain the momentum that led them to the League Cup title and a return to the Champions League last season. Saturday's match was Newcastle's 47th game this season and 19th in 63 days in a grueling schedule that has affected a team suffering from numerous injuries. Howe will try to field a team capable of facing Barcelona after resting Dan Burn, Brazilian Joelinton, and Anthony Gordon for the Manchester City game. Howe said, 'I don't think we have the strength right now to make too many changes and keep the same level of performance.' He added, 'We need to find some energy that lifts our level to one we haven't shown yet this season because I think that's the only way through to the quarter-finals.' Despite all the problems, Newcastle achieved six Champions League wins in a single season for the first time in its history. However, Newcastle has lost all four of its matches against Barcelona since 1997, including this season at home 1-2 in the single league, and therefore needs to defy all expectations to give its fans more delightful European nights.
