In the Champions League Round of 16 on February 24, 2026, the second leg between Newcastle United and Qarabag will take place. The visitors are bidding farewell to the tournament.
Last season, the English side overtook Aston Villa in the fight for fifth place in the Premier League. They also won the League Cup, marking their first trophy in a long time. This season, they lost to Manchester City in the semi-finals of that tournament, and in the Premier League, there is a danger of dropping into the lower part of the table, though competition is fierce. The Azerbaijanis have long dominated domestically. This spring, however, they will have to make up a deficit to Sabah.
Eddie Howe’s men have performed well in the Champions League this time around. Despite starting with a home defeat, Newcastle then managed three consecutive wins, significantly boosting their chances of reaching the play-offs. Afterwards, their form dipped, with a home win over PSV, a loss in Marseille, and draws with Bayer and PSG.
Gurbanov and his players overcame qualification in the summer, knocking out not only Shelbourne and Shkëndija-79, but also Ferencváros. In the main round, they began with two wins over Benfica and Copenhagen. They then added a 2-2 draw with Chelsea and a 3-2 win over Eintracht (both at home), which was enough to reach the play-offs for the first time in their history! When they hosted the British side in Baku, they conceded five goals by halftime, four of them from Gordon. The final score was 1-6.
Newcastle United vs Qarabag: Key Statistics and Trends
Newcastle United have won two out of their last five matches in the League
The club averages 2.56 goals scored and 0.89 conceded per match
Qarabag have lost five of their last seven matches
The team averages 1.93 goals scored and 2.13 conceded per match
Newcastle United vs Qarabag: Probable Starting Lineups
Newcastle United (probable lineup): Pope – Hall, Burn, Thiaw, Trippier – Tonali, Willock, Barnes, Woltemade, Elanga – Gordon
Qarabag (probable lineup): Kochalski – Jafarguliev, Medina, Mustafazade, Mateus – Janković, Bicalho, Zoubir, Jhony Montiel, Andrade – Duran
Previous Matches: Newcastle United vs Qarabag
This is the first meeting between these sides in European competition.
