Newcastle United return to St. James’ Park on Tuesday for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off and find themselves on the verge of a historic place in the last 16.
The Magpies essentially settled the tie in Azerbaijan last week with a clinical 6-1 victory at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium. Anthony Gordon produced a performance for the ages, becoming the first Englishman to score a hat-trick in the knockout stage and just the 18th player in history to score four goals in a single Champions League match. With a massive five-goal lead, Eddie Howe’s side are now looking to secure a club-record sixth victory in a single edition of the Champions League.
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Meanwhile, Qarabag faces a daunting 2,529-mile journey to the northeast of England with history firmly against him. The Azeri team has been defeated in its five previous visits to English soil by a combined score of 19-1. While their groundbreaking campaign saw them finish above big European names like Napoli and Benfica in the league stage, the “Horsemen” have conceded six goals in each of their last two Champions League games and are fighting purely for dignity on Tuesday night.
Newcastle United vs Qarabag: Match preview and team news
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Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026
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Location: St. James’ Park, Newcastle
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Referee: Espen Eskås (NOR)
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Last match: Qarabag 1–6 Newcastle (February 18, 2026), Champions League
Team news
Newcastle UnitedEdit
Eddie Howe must balance rotating the team with maintaining pace. Defender Malick Thiaw is suspended after receiving his third yellow card of the competition. In particular, Bruno Guimarães, Emil Krafth, Fabian Schär and Tino Livramento are ruled out. However, Sven Botman, Yoane Wissa and Lewis Miley will be assessed before kick-off and could return to the team.
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Qarabag
The visitors suffered a blow in the first leg when experienced defender Bahlul Mustafazada had to leave with an adductor injury; He is expected to be sidelined for up to 12 weeks. Dani Bolt is the likely replacement. Elvin Cafarquliyev, scorer of the consolation goal in the first leg, is expected to start at left back, while forward Camilo Durán leads the line in search of his fifth goal of the campaign.
Shape
Newcastle UnitedEdit
The Magpies have been sensational in European competition this season, winning five of their nine Champions League matches. Notably, Newcastle have scored in 11 consecutive Champions League games, a streak only surpassed by Bayern Munich (15). While they suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at the weekend, their European momentum remains high. Notably, of the previous 91 occasions in which a team won a first leg by more than 5 goals, all 91 of them advanced.
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Qarabag
Despite their defensive problems (conceding 27 goals in nine games), Qarabag’s season remains historic as the first Azerbaijani club to reach the knockout rounds of the Champions League. However, they are winless in 10 attempts against English clubs in major European competitions, losing nine of those games. Notably, they are one of only three teams this century to concede more than 6 goals in consecutive Champions League games.
Planned lineups
Newcastle United predicted XI: Dad; Trippier, Botman, Burn, Hall; Tonali, Willock, Barnes; Elanga, Woltemade, Gordon
Qarabag predicted XI: Kochalski; Silva, Mustafazada, Medina, Cafarquliyev; Bicalho, Jankovic; Montiel, Andrade, Zoubir; Duran
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How to watch Newcastle United vs Qarabag?
The match will be broadcast live in the UK on TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video.
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