Barca under siege – 10.000 Geordies are in town

It sounds crazy, but some Newcastle fans actually bought tickets to Barcelona straight after the Qarabag tie, even before the draw came out. The Geordies simply wanted to continue this great ride in the Champions League and didn’t want to think that rainy London and Chelsea (again) would be their next destination. And those brave ones were right, as Newcastle indeed drew the Catalans and will play them tonight in Spain. The tie is very important for Newcastle, as many believe that this is their only chance of playing Europe next season. Their Premier League campaign is not so good and their realistic target will be Europa or Conference League, but even that is not given, considering that other clubs are in front of them. As much as their path to the final is tough (Barcelona and potentially Atletico Madrid and Arsenal), some consider this as a possibility and are pushing for a win tonight at Camp Nou. The other reason is as much important for Newcastle as is for Barcelona – the money. And the fans are just enjoying the Spanish sun and have caused a lot of problems to Barcelona and the city authorities’ hours before the game will actually begin.

According to Spanish and English sources, as much as 10.000 away fans are expected in Barcelona today, and the vast majority arrived last night. The problem is, there are only 2934 tickets printed for the Geordies. Other 7000 people will either be near the Nou Camp or in the city, creating a huge security problem. The game is already branded as a ‘high-risk’ and the police is also involved. Considering that Barcelona’s 62000 capacity stadium is sold out, another 7000 people outside would make it even more difficult for the police and stewards to reduce the crowds and waiting time for entrance. Barca has been monitoring this massive influx of Newcastle fans for some time. Last week, the club activated its Security and Control Protocol for Rival Fans, requesting that Newcastle supporters without tickets refrain from traveling. But as expected, few listened. Many fans will also try to either by buying with resellers or by buying the tickets via various platforms. Barca officials know that and they have already halted ticket sales for this match days earlier to avoid a repeat of the Eintracht Frankfurt debacle in the Europa League of previous seasons.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - ROUND OF 16

Return leg

Tuesday

Sporting - Bodo 5-0 (1-0) AET

/Ignacio 34, Goncalves 61, Suarez 78(p), Araujo 92, Nel 120+1/

Arsenal - Leverkusen 2-0 (1-0)

/Eze 36, Rice 63/

Chelsea - PSG 0-3 (0-2)

/Kvaratskhelia 6, Barcola 14, Mayulu 62/

Manchester City - Real Madrid 1-2 (1-1)

/Haaland 41 - Vinicius 22(p), 90+3/

Wednesday

20.45: (1.57) Barcelona (4.65) Newcastle (5.00)

23.00: (1.35) Bayern (5.30) Atalanta (8.00)

23.00: (1.30) Liverpool (6.10) Galatasaray (8.50)

23.00: (2.60) Tottenham (3.75) Atl.Madrid (2.65)

***odds are subject to change***