Preview: Barcelona hoping home advantage sees them past Newcastle UnitedShareAfter two unbeaten games at Newcastle in the Champions League this season, Barcelona finally get to host the Premier League side.By Filip MishovCan a reenergised Newcastle finally beat Barça this season?Barcelona continued their LaLiga title defence with an emphatic win against Sevilla at Camp Nou over the weekend and Hansi Flick‘s squad is now unbeaten in their last six matches across all competitions (W5, D1). With 17 goals (2.8 per 90) scored and three clean sheets during the confidence-inspiring run, Barça could not have asked for more, amid Joan Laporta’s re-election as president, and ahead of the Champions League Round of 16 return leg against Newcastle.It took a penalty from the cool-headed Lamine Yamal to snatch a last-gasp draw at St. James’ Park in the first leg, but back on their own turf, Barça will be confident of seeing out the aggregate win. They’ve won all 12 games played at home since returning to the refurbished Camp Nou and their last and still the only home defeat this season dates back to October.The Magpies are faring quite well in the midst of an incredibly difficult run of fixtures and despite the FA Cup exit to Manchester City, Eddie Howe‘s team have impressed against Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea of late.Anthony Gordon‘s winner at Stamford Bridge last weekend lifted the Tyneside club to ninth in the Premier League table, and now, Newcastle will travel to Catalonia in a much better place than a few weeks ago. Newcastle have never tasted victory at Camp Nou, leaving disappointed on their previous two visits (1997 and 2002).Key playersLewis Hall kept Lamine Yamal at bay in the first leg and earned the ‘anti-Lamine’ nickname from the Spanish media while taking FotMob’s Player of the Match award with a rating of 7.9. The English left-back followed it up with an impressive performance (7.1) against Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho , and the 21-year-old is Newcastle’s third-highest-rated player in the Premier League this season. Furthermore, no player in the squad has made more tackles (2.5 per 90) and successful dribbles (1.8 per 90), which makes him a strong contender for the role of England’s starting left back at this summer’s World Cup.Since the first leg, Raphinha has delivered a true captain’s performance by scoring a hat trick in the win against Sevilla. And despite his injury troubles this season, the electric Brazilian continues to produce impressive numbers (22 G/A). In the league, Raphinha is only behind Lamine Yamal (23) in both goals + assists (14) despite playing considerably less minutes.Team newsHansi Flick is without both starting full-backs, as Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde are injured, as are Andreas Christensen and Frenkie de Jong. Gavi did, however, make his long-awaited return to actionover the weekend.For Newcastle, Fabian Schär is out and so is captain, Bruno Guimarães, who will be sorely missed in the middle of the park. However, Newcastle’s injury list is finally improving.PredictionBarça enjoy a stellar record at Camp Nou this season, but with the tie still in the balance and Newcastle’s reputation for always turning up in the big games, Hansi Flick’s side will have to be at its best to progress. But if you look at the facts and the individual qualities of the players likely to start the game, it will require a shock upset for the reigning LaLiga champions to miss out on a place in the quarter-finals, and I expect them to run out as winners.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, player ratings. Download the free app here.Preview: Barcelona hoping home advantage sees them past Newcastle UnitedAfter two unbeaten games at Newcastle in the Champions League this season, Barcelona finally get to host the Premier League side.By Filip MishovCan a reenergised Newcastle finally beat Barça this season?Barcelona continued their LaLiga title defence with an emphatic win against Sevilla at Camp Nou over the weekend and Hansi Flick‘s squad is now unbeaten in their last six matches across all competitions (W5, D1). With 17 goals (2.8 per 90) scored and three clean sheets during the confidence-inspiring run, Barça could not have asked for more, amid Joan Laporta’s re-election as president, and ahead of the Champions League Round of 16 return leg against Newcastle.It took a penalty from the cool-headed Lamine Yamal to snatch a last-gasp draw at St. James’ Park in the first leg, but back on their own turf, Barça will be confident of seeing out the aggregate win. They’ve won all 12 games played at home since returning to the refurbished Camp Nou and their last and still the only home defeat this season dates back to October.The Magpies are faring quite well in the midst of an incredibly difficult run of fixtures and despite the FA Cup exit to Manchester City, Eddie Howe‘s team have impressed against Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea of late.Anthony Gordon‘s winner at Stamford Bridge last weekend lifted the Tyneside club to ninth in the Premier League table, and now, Newcastle will travel to Catalonia in a much better place than a few weeks ago. Newcastle have never tasted victory at Camp Nou, leaving disappointed on their previous two visits (1997 and 2002).Key playersLewis Hall kept Lamine Yamal at bay in the first leg and earned the ‘anti-Lamine’ nickname from the Spanish media while taking FotMob’s Player of the Match award with a rating of 7.9. The English left-back followed it up with an impressive performance (7.1) against Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho , and the 21-year-old is Newcastle’s third-highest-rated player in the Premier League this season. Furthermore, no player in the squad has made more tackles (2.5 per 90) and successful dribbles (1.8 per 90), which makes him a strong contender for the role of England’s starting left back at this summer’s World Cup.Since the first leg, Raphinha has delivered a true captain’s performance by scoring a hat trick in the win against Sevilla. And despite his injury troubles this season, the electric Brazilian continues to produce impressive numbers (22 G/A). In the league, Raphinha is only behind Lamine Yamal (23) in both goals + assists (14) despite playing considerably less minutes.Team newsHansi Flick is without both starting full-backs, as Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde are injured, as are Andreas Christensen and Frenkie de Jong. Gavi did, however, make his long-awaited return to actionover the weekend.For Newcastle, Fabian Schär is out and so is captain, Bruno Guimarães, who will be sorely missed in the middle of the park. However, Newcastle’s injury list is finally improving.PredictionBarça enjoy a stellar record at Camp Nou this season, but with the tie still in the balance and Newcastle’s reputation for always turning up in the big games, Hansi Flick’s side will have to be at its best to progress. But if you look at the facts and the individual qualities of the players likely to start the game, it will require a shock upset for the reigning LaLiga champions to miss out on a place in the quarter-finals, and I expect them to run out as winners.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, player ratings. Download the free app here.