Newcastle United host Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in the first UEFA Champions League game in over 20 years at St James’ Park.
It is going to be an electric atmosphere on Tyneside.
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Eddie Howe’s Newcastle drew at AC Milan in their Group F opener and the so-called ‘Group of Death’ now sees them host PSG before back-to-back clashes home and away to Borussia Dortmund. Newcastle have been solid to start the season, winning four of their seven Premier League games (three-straight PL wins and a 1-0 win against Manchester City in the League Cup is behind this current five-game unbeaten run in all competitions) and despite injuries impacting their start to the campaign, Howe will be pretty happy with how things have gone so far.
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PSG’s new manager Luis Enrique will be pretty happy too as they got off to a good start in the Champions League as they beat Dortmund 2-0 at home on Matchday 1. But in Ligue 1 it has been more challenging as they sit in fifth place with just three wins from their first seven games of the season. That said, when you have Kylian Mbappe in your team you always have a chance and Enrique is ushering in a new style of football with a total team approach rather than just relying on individual superstars to get the job done. It will take time for all of these new players to gel but PSG have an incredible array of attacking talents and it is now about Enrique getting the balance right.
Newcastle vs PSG: How to watch live, stream, updates
Date: Wednesday, October 4Kick off: 3pm ETHow to watch: Paramount+ and TUDN USA
Focus on Newcastle
Ahead of this game Eddie Howe has been discussing the rapid rise of Newcastle. When he arrived over 18 months ago they were battling against relegation and now they’re facing PSG in the Champions League. Solid signings, a huge improvement in the players who were already there and a massive rise in optimum levels among fans has built up incredible momentum at Newcastle and St James’ Park is one of the toughest places in Europe to play. PSG will find that out on Wednesday. Injury wise, Callum Wilson and Joelinton are both big doubts and Sven Botman is definitely ruled out but Sandro Tonali is fit. Harvey Barnes and Joe Willock remain out.
Focus on PSG
Luis Enrique’s PSG are very different to their previous teams and although Mbappe is still leading the charge, there is a more collaborative approach to help him out. Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos was a big addition in the summer, while Manuel Ugarte has been a revelation in central midfield and Milan Skriniar and Lucas Hernandez have been key additions in defense. Another couple of new signings, Ousmane Dembele and Randal Kolo Muani, will also offer plenty in attack as PSG may have lost Messi and Neymar this summer but they actually look a lot better for it. In injury news, Marco Asensio and Nuno Mendes are out.
