Eddie Howe to make seven Newcastle changes in dead rubber Champions League clash with Qarabag

Newcastle United return to the comfort of St. James Park to take on Qarabag FK in the second leg of their Champions League play-off tie.

There will be pride on the line in Tyneside later tonight, but very little jeopardy.

The Magpies return home to complete the formalities of their Champions League play-off tie against Qarabag after obliterating tonight’s visitors 6-1 in the first leg in Azerbaijan.

Eddie Howe’s side were ruthless away from home. They turned the tie into a one-sided contest inside 90 remarkable minutes, with Anthony Gordon running the show.

Despite struggling to make any real impact in the Premier League, Gordon has been a different beast in the Champions League this season.

The England international put in a performance that will go down in the history books after becoming the first Newcastle player to score four goals in a single Champions League match.

He also scored the fastest hat-trick by an English player in the Champions League, taking his tally to 10 goals for the campaign, which is a new club record in Europe’s premier tournament.

Malick Thiaw and Jacob Murphy added their names to the scoresheet as Newcastle tore through their opponents with pace and precision.

Having already finished the job in Azerbaijan, it’ll take the mother of all capitulations for Newcastle to throw it away at St. James ‘ Park.

How Newcastle could line up

Howe may take the opportunity to give many of his heavy hitters a breather in tonight’s mid-week action, which means the Magpies could welcome Qarabag with a second-string line-up.

Aaron Ramsdale should replace Nick Pope in goal, while Sven Botman and Alex Murphy, who is poised to make his Champions League debut, come into the XI to partner Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn in defence.

Joelinton is also likely to return to the XI in place of Jacob Ramsey while Sandro Tonali and Joe Willock reprise their roles in midfield.

Qarabag can expect to face an all-new frontline with Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy providing back-up for striker William Osula.