Eddie Howe is hoping for psychological advantage over Barcelona as Newcastle United boss stands by 'biggest game' claim
Eddie Howe has referred to the upcoming Champions League tie with Barcelona as Newcastle United's biggest game in recent history, with the first leg to be played tomorrow night at St James' Park. Kick-off is at 8pm live on Amazon Prime Video.
It might have sounded like hyperbole when Howe labelled these fixtures as the biggest in Newcastle's history, especially given the game at Wembley just last year that saw the club bring an end to Newcastle's 70-year domestic trophy drought.
However, even then, we still had aspirations of gaining entry into the Champions League via our league position, giving us plenty to play for after that fateful game at Wembley.
There's a feeling that this season is effectively over once we exit the Champions League after being knocked out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup. Our league position is still all to play for, obviously, but the chances of qualifying for Europe look to have fallen away already. So yes, in terms of the here and now, these games against Barcelona are huge.
Eddie Howe expects Newcastle to thrive as underdogs
Speaking to the media today, Eddie Howe has stuck by his claim and went on to say that Newcastle thrive on being underdogs which could give them an edge.
"Recent history, someone can trip me up, I think for me it is and that is the mentality we need. Rising to the occasion and embracing the size of the game has helped us.
"The underdog role has helped us when the odds are stacked against us and we need to use every psychological tool we can.
It's not over until it's over
We'd actually suggest that every game is the most important game when it's the next one on the list, regardless of the competition and the opponent, so we do agree with Howe.
If Newcastle can establish a first-leg lead in the tie against Barcelona, that would give us a massive confidence boost ahead of facing Chelsea on Saturday, and if we manage to beat the Blues, then that could reinvigorate our season.
It's probably a long shot now, but mathematically, we can still qualify for the Champions League, which puts the other European competitions in reach, too. A couple of wins will restore belief.
