Opinion

Welcome to the Newcastle v Athletic Bilbao preview.

Wednesday 5th Nov – 8pm kick-off.

Newcastle fans will be hoping for fireworks at St James’ Park this Guy Fawkes night as we host our friends from Bilbao in the Champions League.

There’s been a special bond between the two clubs since a UEFA Cup tie over thirty-one years ago and this promises an electric atmosphere as both teams look to build on encouraging starts to their European campaign.

With the two clubs both still in contention for qualification to the next stage, they’ll be desperate for three more points to further the chances of a top-eight finish.

The Toon of course will have the added incentive of drawing a line under their worst display of the season at the weekend, as we look to continue our fine cup form winning four of our five cup matches so far.

Form

Newcastle have played three Champions League matches this season, winning two and losing one. We began the campaign with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Barcelona but have since hammered both Union SG and Benfica. The six points gained have us eighth in the table which would guarantee...