Newcastle face a daunting record-breaking road trip at Qarabag

Newcastle United travel 2,529 miles to Baku to face Qarabag FK at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium in the first leg of their knockout phase playoff tie on Wednesday evening.

Qarabag defeated Imisli FK 1-0 in the Azerbaijan Premier League last time out. The Horsemen suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat at Liverpool in their last Champions League outing.

Newcastle claimed a 3-1 comeback victory over Aston Villa last time out in the FA Cup. The Magpies held Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw in their last Champions League outing.

Match preview

This will be the 10th European meeting between sides from Azerbaijan and England (all involving Qarabag), with the English side unbeaten and winning on eight occasions (D1).

Qarabag are winless in four home games against English sides in Europe, losing and failing to score in three of those. They did avoid defeat in the most recent one, however, drawing 2-2 with Chelsea on MD4 in the Champions League this season.

The Magpies’ journey of 2,529 miles to Qarabag will be the longest ever distance travelled by an English team for a Champions League away match.

The Horsemen won their opening two games in the Champions League this season (3-2 v Benfica and 2-0 v Copenhagen) but have since only won one of their last six (D1 L4).

This will be the first knockout stage game for both Qarabag and Newcastle in the Champions League; it is the only one of this year’s eight play-off round ties with both teams playing their first in the competition.

Qarabag have conceded 2+ goals in each of their last six Champions League games, while only Kairat (22) – who finished bottom of the table – have conceded more goals than the Azerbaijani side (21) in this edition.

Newcastle have won four Champions League games in 2025/26; if they win here, Eddie Howe will have the joint-most victories by an English manager in a single edition, along with five by Bobby Robson in 2002/03 (with Newcastle) and Graham Potter in 2022/23 (with Chelsea).

Qarabag’s Camilo Durán has netted four goals in the Champions League this season; the only Colombian players to score more in a single edition are Jackson Martínez (7 in 2014/15 for Porto) and Radamel Falcao (5 in 2016/17 for Monaco).

Team news

Qarabag FK

Shahrudin Mahammadaliyev is the only absentee for the host.

Newcastle United

Bruno Guimaraes, Tino Livramento, Joelinton, Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth are sidelined with injuries, while Lewis Miley, Sven Botman and Yoane Wissa will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Predicted line-ups

Qarabag FK: Kochalski, Silva, Mustafazada, Medina, Cafarquliyev, Bicalho, Jankovic, Andrade, Montiel, Zoubir, Duran.

Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Burn, Hall, Ramsey, Tonali, Elanga, Willock, Gordon, Woltemade.