Rob Eddy picks out his three best bets for Newcastle's Champions League group stage match against the French champions.
St James’ Park will host Champions League football for the first time in two decades when Newcastle entertain Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
With Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan the other two teams in the pool, Group F could go to the wire and after grinding out an opening 0-0 draw at the San Siro, the Magpies will look to make home advantage count.
PSG are a mystery. New boss Luis Enrique is trying to blend the old with the new within his squad after a busy summer following his appointment in Paris.
They looked disjointed in Saturday’s 0-0 home draw against Clermont Foot and could come unstuck again on Tyneside.
Best bets:
Newcastle to win @ 7/5
Kylian Mbappe 5+ shots @ 6/4
Total Cards – Under 3.5 cards @ 9/4
Magpies to make the most of their big night
Newcastle’s ambitious owners will have been hoping for nights like this when they bought the club in the autumn of 2021 and St James’ is sure to be rocking.
The Magpies head into the game in decent form, most recently beating Burnley 2-0 on Saturday, and have now kept five successive clean sheets, including that shutout in Milan.
Nick Pope was excellent that evening at the San Siro and will need another big night behind a defence that looks set to be without Sven Botman. Jamaal Lascelles could come in and did well in last Wednesday’s 1-0 EFL Cup win over Manchester City. Dan Burn could also come inside to partner Fabian Schar with Matt Targett handed a start at left back.
Pope and the rest of the Newcastle rearguard will need to be at their very best but they have a midfield that can match the Parisians and both Anthony Gordan and Alexander Isak can exploit an experienced but slightly sluggish visiting back-line on the break.
While Enrique still seems to be getting to grips with his PSG squad, opposite number Eddie Howe knows everything about his players and may set his side up for a huge victory.
Mbappe to try his luck
Mbappe was one of PSG’s scorers against Dortmund and is never shy in trying his luck.
The 24-year-old has scored six or more goals in each of the last three seasons in the Champions League and with one already on the board, he will be happy to play the percentages against the Magpies.
Mbappe had five attempts against Der BVB and with Newcastle well drilled, he could become frustrated and start firing in efforts at any opportunity.
He has already netted seven times in six Ligue 1 games this term and will be desperate to add to his tally on Tyneside.
Cards could be in short supply
On a passionate night, cool heads could prevail and that could lead to a lack of cards being shown by referee Istvan Kovacs.
The Romanian has not been shy in that department, producing seven in his last Champions League game, a qualifier between Copenhagen and Rakow Czestochowa.
However, these two teams are a touch more controlled. Newcastle have averaged 2.57 yellow cards in this season’s Premier League and only picked up one against Milan in a game in which they were under pressure.
PSG avoided any cautions against Dortmund and are averaging 1.43 in Ligue so under 3.5 cards could be a real candidate.
