Newcastle face uphill battle against PSG

FE Team | Published: November 27, 2023 23:51:08

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Nov 27 (AFP): Newcastle must overcome the might of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and a mounting injury list if the Magpies' first foray into the Champions League for 20 years is not to come to a premature end on Tuesday.
Damaging back-to-back defeats to Borussia Dortmund have left Eddie Howe's men sitting bottom of a devilishly difficult Group F, also featuring last season's semi-finalists AC Milan. Newcastle must avoid defeat in the French capital to have any chance of reaching the last 16.
Qualification looked well within the grasp of Howe's side when they hunbled PSG 4-1 on Tyneside in October.
But things have since unravelled for Newcastle as an injury crisis has taken its toll despite the club being backed by the riches of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
Contrary to expectations, Newcastle did not splash their newfound wealth extravagantly in the transfer window by the standards of top Premier League sides.
The club's one marquee summer signing, Sandro Tonali, has been slapped with a 10-month ban for breaching betting rules during his time with Milan.
Harvey Barnes has spent most of the campaign out injured since his switch from Leicester, while young full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento have only been pressed into action in recent weeks due to injuries to others.