Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has spoken, offering insight into how his side could line up against AC Milan and the prospects of qualifying ahead of the game.
Wednesday’s clash feels like it has all the marks to be a Champions League classic. AC Milan and Newcastle United. Two teams that have everything to play for, with qualifying not impossible for either – at least on paper.
Regardless of the score at St James’ Park, both sets of fans will have an eye on the ongoings at the Signal Iduna Park, where Borussia Dortmund are against Paris Saint-Germain. Should the German outfit beat the Parisian heavyweights, it would mean that if either side were to win at St James’ they would overtake PSG and progress into the Round of 16.
With that being said, both sides also have the chance to worsen their opposition’s current situation. It is well documented that Milan and the Magpies are undergoing injury crises, and their seasons have taken a hit as a result. The Rossoneri’s woes have been over a longer period, whereas the hosts have lost their previous two fixtures by three goals, against Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively.
Eddie Howe spoke to the media before the game, and his comments were relayed by ChronicleLive.
How great could tomorrow be?
“It’s got the hallmarks of being a special night. All we can do is try to win the game. We’ll give everything to try that.”
Team selection issues…
“You can read into it whatever you want… [Gordon, Dubravka & Longstaff missing from training]. We’re two days after a game so we’re trying to manage players. We’ll see who’s fit for tomorrow.”
Newcastle’s performance in the ‘Group of Death’…
“To be here with some kind of destiny in our hands, we’d have taken that. We have to think like that now anyway.
“We can control what we can control: Our performance tomorrow. We’ll respect Milan, they’re a very good team. They played really well in the first game.”
A message to St James’ Park…
“Make it a magical European night. They [the fans] can only do so much but we have to do our bit for them.”
A drop in performance levels?
“It’s been well documented. We’ve tried to stay away from that and just focus on playing. We’ve tried to keep our minds free. Our last two performances haven’t been us at our best.”
Conversations with Sandro Tonali…
“We’ll have conversations but I trust my own eyes and what I see! As I would for every game. But of course, he can give us little bits of information.”
I think Tonali’s advice was to take Milan and under 2 1/2 goals.
😂😂