NEWCASTLE UNITED return to Champions League action tomorrow night when they take on Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park.
Eddie Howe’s side lost to Dortmund on Tyneside a fortnight ago, and currently sit in third position in Group F of the Champions League after picking up four points from their opening two group games against AC Milan and Paris St Germain.
What are the main talking points ahead of Newcastle’s game in Germany?
DEFENSIVE DILEMMA
Having kept a settled back four for pretty much all of last season, Eddie Howe has had to make enforced alterations to his backline this term.
Jamaal Lascelles has returned to the heart of the back four to replace the injured Sven Botman, and the skipper is set to continue alongside Fabian Schar in Dortmund.
However, with Dan Burn a major doubt because of a back injury sustained in the weekend win over Arsenal, Howe could also have to shuffle around his full-backs this week.
Lewis Hall and Paul Dummett are both available to play at left-back, but when Burn departed at the half-time interval of Saturday’s game, Howe opted to move Kieran Trippier to left-back and play Tino Livramento on the right of the back four. Assuming Burn is missing against Dortmund, that could well be the way the Newcastle boss decides to go from the outset in Germany.
“Kieran can play left-back, and he played very well against (Bukayo) Saka, who is an outstanding talent,” said Howe. “I thought Kieran adapted his game well. He showed his experience, and Tino came on and did really well in his usual right-back position.
“It’s obviously a very different position for Kieran, and you wouldn’t necessarily see him going on the outside as much as he would in his normal position on the right, but it’s definitely a position that he can play.”
GETTING GAME PLAN RIGHT
In their first Champions League outing, Newcastle mounted a successful rearguard action to claim a point in the San Siro. With their wingers focusing on dropping deep to protect their full-backs and their central midfielders reluctant to push too far forward, the Magpies adopted a relatively conservative game plan against AC Milan.
Can the same policy work against Borussia Dortmund? Or if Newcastle limit their attacking ambition at Signal Iduna Park, will their defensive mindset play into Dortmund’s hands and invite their opponents to push players into the final third without having to worry about leaving their own defence exposed?
On the evidence of last month’s first game at St James’ Park, Dortmund’s midfielders will adopt the same kind of energetic, high-pressing approach that has worked so effectively for Newcastle under Howe. When Dortmund attacked on Tyneside, they did so in numbers, packing out the box and eventually breaking down the Magpies’ resistance.
A similar approach can be expected on Tuesday, so if Newcastle are to claim anything from the game, they are surely going to have to offer an attacking threat of their own. Sitting deep would be a recipe for disaster given Dortmund’s multiple attacking options, so the Magpies will have to be more adventurous than they were in Milan, with Anthony Gordon and Miguel Almiron likely to be key in the wide-attacking positions.
DORTMUND’S BAD WEEKEND
While Newcastle were edging out Arsenal on Saturday evening, Dortmund were crashing to their first Bundesliga defeat of the season.
It wasn’t just any old loss either as they were thrashed 4-0 at home by title rivals Bayern Munich, with England skipper Harry Kane ending the game with a hat-trick.
The defeat will have stung Dortmund, who lost out to Bayern Munich in the race for the Bundesliga title in dramatic fashion on the final day of last season, and it will be interesting to see how it influences Edin Terzic’s selection to face Newcastle.
Felix Nmecha, who scored Dortmund’s winner at St James’ Park, was only a substitute against Bayern, but given how well he played in the first game against Newcastle, the youngster must have a good chance of returning to the side on Tuesday, potentially as a replacement for Salih Ozcan, who struggled at the weekend.
Similarly, while Niklas Sule didn’t start at St James’, he could find himself back in the line-up this week after coming off the bench as a half-time substitute against Bayern.
A GEORDIE INVASION
While Newcastle’s official away allocation at Signal Iduna Park is 3,900, it is estimated that more than double that number of fans are heading to Germany for this week’s game.
Monday and Tuesday flights to Dortmund and Dusseldorf have long been sold out from pretty much every UK airport, while a large number of supporters are also heading to Germany via connecting flights to Amsterdam.
Hotel rooms in Dortmund are like gold dust, with large groups of fans also staying in Dusseldorf, which is a 45-minute train ride away from Dortmund city centre.
This is Newcastle’s fourth competitive European game in Germany – and the good news for Magpies supporters is that they are unbeaten in the previous three.
They beat 1860 Munich in the Intertoto Cup in the 2001-2 season and claimed a 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the group stage of the Champions League under Sir Bobby Robson in 2002-03. Their most recent German outing resulted in a goalless draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Cup in 2006-07.
THE GROUP SITUATION
Regardless of what happens at Signal Iduna Park, Paris St Germain head to the San Siro in this week’s other group game knowing a victory will leave them extremely well-placed to make the knockout stages.
Indeed, if PSG win in Milan, they will head into their fifth group game at home to Newcastle knowing a victory over the Magpies would guarantee their qualification.
On the other side of the coin, AC Milan, with just two points from their opening three matches, know anything less than a win at home to PSG will make it extremely difficult for them to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Lose to PSG, and Milan will head into their final two group games effectively playing for third position, and a place in the latter stages of the Europa League.
A draw in the San Siro would probably suit Newcastle best as whatever their own result against Dortmund, it would keep them ahead of AC Milan while also still in touching distance of PSG.
Newcastle round off their group campaign with a trip to the Parc des Princes to face PSG on November 28 and a home game against AC Milan at St James’ on December 13.
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