Barcelona - Newcastle (first leg 1-1): Newcastle's ticket

Joan Laporta's victory in the Barcelona presidential election is a significant boost for coach Hansi Flick and his team as they host Newcastle in the Champions League quarter-final second leg.

Success in Europe remains a major goal for Laporta. And if Newcastle is seen as a vote for hopes of progressing in the Champions League, he needs the team to win convincingly.

Barcelona's problems

The main issue is the team's fitness struggles, with many players injured. Flick has almost no room to rotate the squad, while in recent weeks the team has played many high-intensity matches, mostly without the proper quality or form.

Against Newcastle, the defense had only one player in his natural position: Pau Cubarsi. Gerard Martin was deployed as a left-back but moved centrally. Ronald Araujo played at right-back, a position he rarely occupies as a natural center-back, while Joao Cancelo played left-back, though he is usually preferred on the opposite flank. Captain Araujo made a positional error leading to the home goal at St James' Park, showing the team's alarming lack of concentration in the closing stages, as similar mistakes recurred just four days later against Sevilla.

In midfield, Frenkie de Jong's absence due to a hamstring injury reduced Barcelona's ball control and defensive solidity. Gavi only returned last weekend in the win against Sevilla. In attack, both Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski have been underperforming, and the same could be said for Raphinha, despite his hat-trick in La Liga last weekend following a hamstring injury last month. Pedri was Barcelona's only hope against Newcastle in England, but the number 8 lacked the fitness to perform consistently throughout the match, as Eddie Howe's team pressed intensely and maintained a high tempo.

Lamine Yamal, meanwhile, also did not have his best performance, being tightly marked by Lewis Hall throughout the match and having only one shooting opportunity from an open situation in the first half, aside from the penalty goal late in the game.

That goal clearly meant a lot to Barcelona, but Flick knows his team must improve their attacking efforts when hosting Newcastle at Camp Nou.

Home advantage

Injuries have clearly left Flick's team lacking depth and a certain winning mentality against the English side. However, Barcelona remains a formidable attacking force at Camp Nou, where they have scored in each of their last 16 home Champions League matches, totaling 50 goals (average 3.1 per match). They have won all three recent home matches with a combined score of 12-3.

Flick is determined to improve the performance of his forwards, who managed only two shots on target in the first leg. They had a slightly higher expected goals figure than their opponent (1.42 vs. 1.3), but this total was largely inflated by Yamal's successful penalty.

Despite a relatively quiet performance at Newcastle, the number 10 will undoubtedly be key in Barcelona's plan if they aim to succeed. This young player has contributed to 12 goals in his last 11 home Champions League appearances with 6 goals and 6 assists. Raphinha also wants to make a more significant impact this time after having only one off-target shot in the first leg. The Brazilian scored a hat-trick in the 5-2 home win against Sevilla in La Liga on Sunday, including two penalties.

Raphinha has contributed to 18 goals in 15 home Champions League matches for Barcelona (9 goals, 9 assists). Among players with over 10 home appearances for the club in this competition, only Messi (1.45) has a higher goal involvement rate per 90 minutes than number 11 (1.35).

The German strategist is likely to make several changes to the attacking system, aiming to establish a solid link between Pedri - Fermin - Olmo, to create spaces and enhance the performance of Yamal and Raphinha. The effectiveness of these two forwards will determine Barcelona's chances of victory.