North East | Mourinho and Benfica head to Newcastle
Newcastle United v Benfica preview
Newcastle host Benfica at St James’ Park, aiming to follow up their win over Union SG with another step toward the Champions League knockout stage.
Eddie Howe’s team lost their opener to Barcelona but responded strongly in Belgium, and a second win would move them closer to qualification.
Team news
Newcastle remain short of options in defence, with Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall both sidelined. Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier are expected to continue at full-back, while Fabian Schär could return to the heart of the defence. Jacob Ramsey is also in contention for a place in the squad after recovering from an ankle injury.
For Benfica, Mourinho is expected to restore several regulars after rotating for their cup game at the weekend. Anatoliy Trubin should start in goal, while Nicolas Otamendi and Antonio Silva anchor the defence. Striker Vangelis Pavlidis has scored four goals in his last four matches and leads Benfica’s attack. Alexander Bah, Manu Silva and Bruma remain unavailable through injury.
A closer look at the opposition
Benfica travel to Tyneside still searching for their first points of their Champions League campaign after back-to-back defeats, including a 3-2 home loss to Qarabag that cost Bruno Lage his job. New manager José Mourinho has steadied their domestic form with three wins from six matches, the latest a 2-0 cup victory over Chaves. European competition remains a concern, though, with the Portuguese side losing their last four Champions League fixtures and managing just one win in their past nine away games against English opposition.
Mourinho's love for #NUFC shone through in tonight's press conference and he was asked whether he was ever close to getting the manager's job at St James' Park. https://t.co/JFTWEMjc04
— The Chronicle (@ChronicleNUFC) October 20, 2025
Key stats to think about
Newcastle and Benfica have faced each other twice before in European competition, meeting in the quarter-finals of the 2012-13 Europa League. Benfica advanced 4-2 on aggregate after a 3-1 home victory and a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park.
Following their emphatic 4-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise on matchday two, Newcastle will be aiming to secure back-to-back victories in the Champions League for the first time since February 2003, when they defeated Bayer Leverkusen twice.
Benfica boss José Mourinho has managed just three wins in 12 visits to St James’ Park across all competitions (D4 L5), and only one in his last seven (D3 L3). This will be his first match there as a manager since April 2021, when his Tottenham side drew 2-2 with Steve Bruce’s Newcastle.
Benfica’s recent record on English soil makes for less encouraging reading. They have won only one of their last nine away fixtures against English opposition in European competition (D3 L5) and are without a victory in their past four (D1 L3), a run stretching back to a 3-1 triumph at Tottenham in March 2014.
Comments
Post a Comment