Qarabag vs Newcastle live: Magpies make 2,500-mile trip for crucial Champions League knockout play-off | OneFootball

(REUTERS)

Newcastle will hope not to return from their 5,000-mile round trip to Baku empty-handed as they take on Qarabag in the first leg of their Champions League knockout play-off tie.

The Magpies just missed out on the top eight after drawing with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain on the final league phase matchday, with the gutsy result not enough to spare them of the ever-perilous play-offs.

And while the Premier League season is going anything but to plan for Eddie Howe, the Newcastle boss will look to build on progression in the FA Cup with another triumph in Europe.

Travel aside, Newcastle have been dealt a rather favourable draw and have go into this clash as the strong favourites, with Qarabag’s last European outing seeing them thrashed 6-0 by Liverpool.

However, the Azerbaijani outfit have proved a formidable foe on home soil this term, beating Eintracht Frankfurt and holding Chelsea to a draw during the league phase. Could they cause another upset and put pressure on the return leg on Tyneside?

Can Newcastle reach the last-16?

"Of course, it means everything to us currently,” said Eddie Howe. “You look at the history of the club, this is a new opportunity for us - to get to the last 16 of this competition would be an incredible achievement, and we're trying to embrace it in that way.

"We're trying to look at the excitement and the possibility, rather than feel too much of the burden of the pressure of the occasion. We want to turn these moments and these games into history opportunities, into moments that people talk about for a long, long time.

"There's a real excitement with this game and the travel and the number of supporters we're bringing. It's all set to be a great occasion. Then, of course, we have to do our bit, we have to bring our A game, and we have to approach the game in the right way, in terms of our attitude. I know we will."

Howe not expecting similar scoreline as Liverpool game

In the final match of the league phase Qarabag were hammered 6-0 by Liverpool at Anfield and the reaction to that is to say Newcastle should be able to manage against them in a similar way.

"I've watched a lot of Qarabag in the build-up to this game and I watched both of (their games against Liverpool and Chelsea),” Howe said.

“The Liverpool scoreline was not reflective of the game at all - Qarabag made a really good, bright start to that game, had a number of chances, looked really threatening with the ball and showed that high technical level.

“They've got some dangerous players.”

Mike Jones18 February 2026 16:21

The four teams that show why the Champions League play-offs work

The mistake may be to see it through the lens of the continental superpowers. The Champions League’s knockout phase play-offs could perhaps do with a punchier name than Uefa’s unwieldy tag. For those who assume their destination is much deeper into the tournament, it can seem a punishment, an unwanted extra couple of fixtures jammed into February.

Yet for many of its participants, it is an opportunity. Under the previous format, some were unaccustomed to Champions League football after Christmas.

The four teams that show why the Champions League play-offs work

The extra two games can be a burden for some of Europe’s royalty, but, as Richard Jolly details, the extra stage affords a stage to shine for a more diverse selection of sides across the continent

Richard Jolly18 February 2026 16:09