Newcastle United will face Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday.
Barcelona finished fifth in the preliminary group stage and did not go through the qualifying round. Meanwhile, Eddie Howe's side finished 12th, although they had a lucky play-off draw and a comfortable win against Qarabag.
Hansi Flick is top of La Liga, but faced disappointment on Tuesday evening. Despite a 3–0 win against Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona were eliminated after a 4–0 defeat in the first leg.
This will be the focus of attention ahead of the first leg against Newcastle United. The Catalans know they cannot come away from St James' Park on a bad note and hope that can be sorted out later.
Why does Barcelona have special plans for Newcastle United?
Barcelona will face Athletic Club on Saturday. Usually he would return home and then fly to England on Monday.
Instead, Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco have come up with a new plan. The idea is to ensure that Barcelona's players are fully rested before the Newcastle United match.
so. They will fly to England on Sunday, giving them two nights' rest before the Magpies match. This means that they will fly to Bilbao on Saturday morning instead of staying the night before.
Athletic Club match planning has taken second place in the Champions League.
Catalan newspaper sports world Explain that this is to give 'priority to the health' of the players.
what happens then
There is a possibility of a recovery session in Newcastle on Sunday, although it is unclear where exactly they will take place. Given that Barcelona will be in the city for two nights, they will obviously need somewhere suitable to train.
Barcelona almost managed to pull off an unexpected comeback against Atletico Madrid last night. Two goals from Marc Benal and a Raphinha penalty set up a tense end to the cup game.
After the Blaugrana were unable to make it 4–4, they won 3–0 on the night and Diego Simeone's side reached the final.
