St James’ Park will soon be packed to the rafters as Newcastle United return to Champions League action.
Eddie Howe’s Magpies competed in Europe’s main competition during the 2023/24 season, and – for the most part – didn’t disgrace themselves on the big stage, despite facing off against AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, and Paris St. Germain.
On home turf, the Toon even amazingly downed the French giants 4-1, with the likes of Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, and many more first-teamers who are still in Howe’s plans to this day lining up for that famous tie.
Bruno Guimaraes also found himself in the middle of the park for Newcastle on that unforgettable night, with Dan Burn shining in the backline, with a hope now that the duo, and others, can star again when Barcelona come to town tomorrow night.
The stars when Newcastle thumped PSG
With Alexander Isak no longer in Howe’s camp, Newcastle need a leader more now than ever, with Guimaraes often leading from the front as a shining example.
After all, away from scoring against Liverpool this season while donning the captain’s armband, the “passionate” South American – as he has been labelled previously by Howe – has also managed to average a sensational 7.5 ball recoveries per league clash, on top of winning 5.5 duels on average, as per Sofascore.
Therefore, with the pressure ramped up tomorrow against Hansi Flick’s visitors, Howe will hope he can rely on his dependable number 39 to shine again as both a skilful but fiery presence centrally.
When casting minds back to that famous night against PSG, Guimaraes was definitely a well-rounded performer with an assist picked up, alongside winning five aerial duels to keep the French titans at bay.
That assist allowed for hometown hero Burn to steal the limelight, with his vital header gifting the Toon a much-needed two-goal cushion.
While Burn will no doubt get the nod to start again versus Barca, he might not be the only valiant defender Howe relies on under the St James’ Park floodlights.
One of his defensive teammates now aims to be as defensively stern as the lofty 33-year-old to guide his side to another momentous scalp.
The "unsung hero" who could be this season's Burn
The Magpies will fancy their chances ahead of this one-off clash with Flick and Co., despite a slow start back in domestic action.
Heading into their showdown with PSG two years back, Newcastle had just about edged past Burnley 2-0 in the bread and butter of the league, with the Toon now diving headfirst back into the Champions League this time around after a similarly cagey 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
While some of the attacking play saw chances be wasted, the defensive showing against the Old Gold will have pleased Howe, with Fabian Schar continuing his rock-solid start to the season by collecting a clean sheet against Vitor Pereira’s men.
Away from just this slim win, the Toon’s “unsung hero” – as he was once labelled by journalist Jordan Cronin – has also helped his side pick up another two shutouts in the league so far by bettering Guimaraes’ duels won count at 5.8 duels won per game, with the Swiss enforcer now tasked with the tough job of trying to nullify Robert Lewandowski.
Games played
19
Wins
5
Draws
5
Losses
9
Goals scored
1
Assists
2
Clean sheets
4
He might well be able to rise to this hard occasion when assessing his previous numbers in the Champions League with both Newcastle and his former employers in FC Basel, with Schar – who was signed in the Mike Ashley era for just £3m – picking up an impressive goal and two assists from his 19 encounters in the hotly contested competition.
One of those efforts even came about during the Magpies’ win over PSG as his stunning long-range effort beat Gianluigi Donnarumma, and with memorable clean sheets also coming his way in the tournament versus Liverpool and Chelsea, he could be the main star for Howe’s men as they try to topple Barca.
Dubbed a “true legend of the club” by one Newcastle content creator earlier this year, it could be that Schar is remembered as the poster boy for another unbelievable night in Europe, in the same way Burn is fondly looked back on to this day for his out-of-the-ordinary showing against PSG.
Burn, signed for just £13m from Brighton, remains such an astute capture for the PIF regime, although it’s hard to look past the £3m spent on Schar as even bigger Magpies bargain.
