Newcastle United vs Barcelona predictions and betting tips – Can Magpies pull off huge win?

Struggling in the Premier League and out of the FA Cup, Newcastle United’s season essentially comes down to the Champions League. Barcelona are their opponents in the last 16.

Will Hansi Flick’s side take a decisive step towards the quarter-finals by winning at St James’ Park, or will Newcastle triumph on home turf?

• Barcelona to win – 5/4 with Betfred
• Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals – 4/6 with 247Bet
• Raphinha to score any time – 13/8 with Sky Bet

Newcastle United vs Barcelona odds

Find the latest Newcastle United vs Barcelona betting odds here. All odds are provided by our recommended football bookmakers and are subject to change.

Newcastle United vs Barcelona predictions

For Newcastle United, it all comes down to this.

Already out of the race for a top-five finish in the Premier League, Eddie Howe’s team saw their chances of FA Cup glory come to an end at the weekend. 

A fifth-round tie against Manchester City always looked like it was going to be difficult for Newcastle, and so it proved.

Harvey Barnes gave the hosts the lead in the 18th minute at St James’ Park, but Savinho levelled things up before the interval. A brace from Omar Marmoush in the second half then secured City’s place in the quarter-finals.

It was another bad result for Newcastle, who have not been at the races for much of 2026.

Although they beat Manchester United in their most recent Premier League fixture, the Magpies have lost five of their last seven top-flight encounters.

That run has left them nine points adrift of the Champions League qualification spots, so unless they go all the way in this season’s edition, Newcastle will not be involved in Europe’s foremost tournament in 2026/27.

The league phase was a mixed bag for the Magpies. There were plenty of highlights, including comfortable victories over Union Saint-Gilloise (4-0), Benfica (3-0), Athletic Bilbao (2-0) and PSV (3-0).

Newcastle also battled to a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain on matchday eight, fighting back to earn a point after going 1-0 down early on.

But there were defeats by Barcelona and Marseille thrown in there too, and a 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen was disappointing given Newcastle were ahead in the closing stages.

That loss to Barca came on matchday one, when a brace from Marcus Rashford earned the Catalan giants a 2-1 victory at St James’ Park.

Newcastle will be determined to avenge that defeat in the round of 16, but they are underdogs in this tie.

Howe’s men breezed past Qarabag in the knockout phase play-offs, triumphing 9-3 on aggregate, but it goes without saying that a two-legged tie against Barcelona represents a much stiffer test.

“Tuesday is really now our season,” Howe said after the loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup last time out. “It’s in the hands of the next two games in the Champions League.”

It will be difficult for Newcastle to win at the Camp Nou, so they probably need a victory in the first leg to stand a chance of going through.

Newcastle United vs Barcelona betting tips

Newcastle United and Barcelona are ready to face off in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Difficult evening for Newcastle

Howe has spoken of the important role the St James’ Park crowd can play in this match. Many Newcastle United fans are disgruntled at the moment, but they will back their team to the hilt on Tuesday.

Perhaps being underdogs will help Newcastle, who will look to overwhelm Barcelona with their energy and intensity.

However, the Magpies have not had their mojo with them for some time now, and Barca did a good job of handling the St James’ atmosphere back in September.

Hansi Flick has a huge amount of quality at his disposal, and the likes of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski are likely to tip this match in Barca’s favour.

Newcastle’s players will run hard on Tuesday, but that might not be enough to avoid defeat.

Back Barcelona to win at 5/4 with Betfred

Entertainment awaits at St James’

Newcastle United’s attack has not been firing on all cylinders of late, although the return to full fitness of Yoane Wissa should help.

Earlier in Howe’s tenure, Newcastle had one of the meanest defences in the Premier League, but that has not been the case this season.

Newcastle have now gone 13 matches in all competitions without a clean sheet, so it is hard to see them shutting out Barcelona here.

At the same time, the home team will be quietly confident of breaching Barcelona’s backline, notwithstanding the solidity the Blaugrana have shown of late.

Choose both teams to score and over 2.5 goals at 4/6 with 247Bet

Raphinha to find target

Raphinha scored a career-high 34 goals in 2024/25, but he is unlikely to reach that tally this time around.

Injury has not helped the Brazil international’s cause, with Raphinha restricted to only 26 appearances up to now.

Even so, the former Leeds United man has scored 14 goals this term, giving him a better goals-per-game ratio than any other Barcelona player.

Whether he is up against Kieran Trippier or Tino Livramento, Raphinha will cause Newcastle United problems.

Go for Raphinha to score any time at 13/8 with Sky Bet

Newcastle United vs Barcelona predicted lineups

• Newcastle United expected lineup: Pope; Livramento, Thiaw, Botman, Hall; Willock, Tonali, Joelinton; Barnes, Wissa, Gordon.
• Barcelona expected lineup: J. Garcia; E. Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo; Pedri, Casado; Yamal, Lopez, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Where to watch Newcastle United vs Barcelona

• Location: St James’ Park, Newcastle, England.
• Date and time: Tuesday 10th March, 8pm.
• How to watch: Amazon Prime Video.

More Champions League predictions

We have plenty more Champions League predictions and picks – find our latest betting tips from expert punters in our match preview overview.

About the author

Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.

Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball

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