Newcastle United will be travelling to Baku to cross swords with Qarabag, the Club from Azarbaijan, to contest the 1st leg of the UEFA Champions League, Round of 16 playoff. The match will be held tomorrow at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku.
Recent Form
Newcastle United finished the group stage strongly and enter as favourites against Qarabag. The Magpies have displayed a chequered performance this season, and domestically in the EPL, they are placed 10th on the leaderboard, having lost 10 of the 26 games played. However, their last match in the EPL was a good win over Tottenham, and more recently, just 4 days ago, they toppled Aston Villa 3-1 to reach the 5th round of the FA Cup.
Qarabağ FK are certainly the underdogs but have exhibited a strong showing in the Azerbaijan Premier League and in home conditions, are a formidable side. Reaching the playoffs is in itself a fine achievement. With victories in the last two games domestically, the Azerbaijanis are in good shape to create an upset.
This is the first-ever head-to-head clash in a European competition between Newcastle and Qarabag.
Expectations
Newcastle United undoubtedly have a superior team with tremendous goal scoring abilities. We can speak on length on the abilities of Anthony Gordon, Elanga, Harvey Barnes, Woltermade, Tonali and Dan Burn. It will not be easy for Qarabag to withstand the pressure from the Magpies. However, Qarabag are a resilient outfit and at home may fancy their chances. I am keen to see how Camilo Duran fares for Qarabag against Newcastle. Kady, too, might just be a handful.
Qarabag will give their best, and I hope the home crowd backs them to the hilt. Newcastle United, however, may still win it.
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