UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Season

[mv1986]

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It seems difficult for Newcastle to beat Barcelona. This is not without reason as Newcastle performance this season has been very poor. They have failed to win in their last four matches across all competitions and their domestic league standings are also poor. This is in stark contrast to Barcelona, ​​who are in good form and have no serious squad issues.

So, I see Newcastle hopes of beating Barcelona in the first leg as difficult, even though the first leg will be played in front of their home fans. Furthermore, before facing Barcelona ​​they will face tough matches Manchester United in the Premier League and Manchester City in the FA Cup. So, failures in these matches will impact the match against Barcelona. I think Newcastle chances of stealing points are very slim against a team that is one of the strongest in the UCL this season.

Why would those other games impact the Barcelona game? I never really understand statements like these because those guys are top professionals. Of course teams can develop momentum, no doubt about that. But losing against Manchester United would have no meaning for any of the subsequent games.

It could actually be the opposite, if they are with the back against their wall and perhaps drop out of the FA Cup, it's clear that title chances drop significantly and they might even go harder against Barcelona.

By the way when you look at the results that Barcelona had recently, they are definitely not unbeatable. Atletico Madrid destroyed Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and if they can do it, I think it is not completely impossible to play a successful first leg. Two weeks ago Girona was able to beat them im La Liga, so nothing is set in stone yet.

[Black Mbaye]

I don't think Newcastle can withstand Barcelona, they're an easy opponent and it won't be much hard for Barcelona especially now that Yamal is in form. Chelsea would be very tough for PSG but I think PSG would move to the next stage. Is not like I'm underrating Chelsea they'll have their own chances and even pressure PSG at some points but PSG will  qualify ahead of Chelsea.

Barcelona is not too strong this season which is why I don't think they will have it easy with Barcelona. They might be very experienced in the champions league but any serious English team will give them a lot of headache especially now that they are not in their best form. Barcelona may win the match bit it is not going to be an easy win for them to beat and English team just like that without a very intense fight.

I don't think like you. Barcelona is in very good form right now, and I think they'd be the favorites if they faced any English team. Of course, I'm not including Arsenal in that. Barcelona might struggle against Arsenal, but they can beat any other English team. Because Hansi Flick is a very good manager at adapting tactics to the opponent. It has worked against many teams, and I think it will work in this match as well.

Well, if you ask me, all of those teams are not really at there best performance if we look at records previously. So, for this reason, I don't consider any match easy or less stressful for any big team to win. We saw wolves who is at the bottom of the EPL table hold Arsenal to a 2:2 draw after 90 mins. Yesterday, city struggled to win just Leeds 1:0. Barcelona has lost several times this season to smaller teams, even real Madrid too. Well, all you guys are saying is just predictions, and has no guarantee of happening. Football isn't easy, and anyone can win any team. Let's not depend on any name, but wait on full time, my thoughts though

That's absolutely true. We see this every year, not just this year. Who could have predicted that Juventus would lose 5-2 to Galatasaray in the first leg? We've seen many big teams lose to smaller teams in league matches as well. It's not right to speak definitively, and smaller teams always have a chance to win. The biggest mistake big teams can make is underestimating their opponents. No opponent is small, and every match is difficult.

[silpersurfer]

I'll tell you for free, Newcastle isn't an ordinary team, they may have lots of inconsistencies, but they're a team I never pray to meet at crucial moments. Barcelona may win quite alright but it wouldn't be very easy for them. Barcelona now isn't so strong in form, Newcastle can challenge them to a great extent and possibly win them.

Chelsea and PSG would be a very intense match of which the two sides have good chances of scaling through, but currently PSG is in a better form and I'll not be surprised if they emerge to the round of 8

I don't think Newcastle can withstand Barcelona, they're an easy opponent and it won't be much hard for Barcelona especially now that Yamal is in form. Chelsea would be very tough for PSG but I think PSG would move to the next stage. Is not like I'm underrating Chelsea they'll have their own chances and even pressure PSG at some points but PSG will  qualify ahead of Chelsea.

Newcastle this season and also Chelsea are not very good compared to PSG and also Barcelona who are their opponents. We can see the difference between the two opponents who come from La Liga and French League 1, they are at the top of the standings, so it is very natural for us to judge that currently the two English league representatives have quite little potential to win, unless they face Arsenal or Manchester City, maybe we can think twice about saying that.

[7juju]

I'll tell you for free, Newcastle isn't an ordinary team, they may have lots of inconsistencies, but they're a team I never pray to meet at crucial moments. Barcelona may win quite alright but it wouldn't be very easy for them. Barcelona now isn't so strong in form, Newcastle can challenge them to a great extent and possibly win them.

Chelsea and PSG would be a very intense match of which the two sides have good chances of scaling through, but currently PSG is in a better form and I'll not be surprised if they emerge to the round of 8

I don't think Newcastle can withstand Barcelona, they're an easy opponent and it won't be much hard for Barcelona especially now that Yamal is in form. Chelsea would be very tough for PSG but I think PSG would move to the next stage. Is not like I'm underrating Chelsea they'll have their own chances and even pressure PSG at some points but PSG will  qualify ahead of Chelsea.

Well PSG are lucky that Enzo Maresca has left his role at Chelsea if not it would have been another shocking result for them as it was in the club world cup final, when majority of spectators were rooting for PSG, but they ended up losing to Chelsea. Chelsea might surprise PSG again that's what am just feeling. But the first leg of this fixture will largely determine who will qualify. PSG struggled to win Monaco in the playoffs round, and to me Chelsea are far more stronger than Monaco so it's going to be a tie that will be separated by little details.

[wakier]

I thought Chelsea would do better under their new manager when they were winning matches by big goals difference but seeing how Chelsea's performance has declined lately, Chelsea is gradually returning to their old self, and I believe Chelsea might part ways with Liam Rosenior if Chelsea's performance doesn't change quickly. I believe Chelsea has a chance against PSG because of how PSG has been playing poorly for a long time now this season, and if we weigh both team performance in the Champions League this season, Chelsea should be the one to proceed to quarter final.

Yes, this is what happens when a club seems to be making significant progress but suddenly the club ends its cooperation with its coach in the midst of a heated situation, then the performance will not be the same and usually tends to be worse, I prefer when Chelsea is still coached by Enzo Maresca to look more organized and can create the appropriate formation whereas now especially lately Chelsea performance tends to decrease and I'm not sure Chelsea can beat PSG, I don't see PSG bad performance as you said what I see PSG is still good enough to stay in the Champions League need to remember that PSG was the champion of UCL last season and currently still under the same manager so I think PSG is still superior to Chelsea.

[Ndabagi01]

That's absolutely true. We see this every year, not just this year. Who could have predicted that Juventus would lose 5-2 to Galatasaray in the first leg? We've seen many big teams lose to smaller teams in league matches as well. It's not right to speak definitively, and smaller teams always have a chance to win. The biggest mistake big teams can make is underestimating their opponents. No opponent is small, and every match is difficult.

Underrating an opponent in the champions league is the least you should do as a team. The champions league is a very well structured competition where the best teams in all league competitions are well represented by their top teams in the league. So you can’t look down on a team just because they may not be coming from a league competition that’s not as tough as yours.

In the champions league ground, everyone is given equal chance and rating. It is after the game or how you go on and play the game that determines how well you’re going to stay in the champions league race. Juventus may have looked down on Galatasaray too much and hence they gave them the biggest surprise and has to end their race in the champions league so soon. It is difficult to actually see big teams getting eliminated from the champions league this early, but it is now happening as the lesser teams are coming up better in their style of play and dominancy in the competition.

[Smack That Ace]

Well PSG are lucky that Enzo Maresca has left his role at Chelsea if not it would have been another shocking result for them as it was in the club world cup final, when majority of spectators were rooting for PSG, but they ended up losing to Chelsea. Chelsea might surprise PSG again that's what am just feeling. But the first leg of this fixture will largely determine who will qualify. PSG struggled to win Monaco in the playoffs round, and to me Chelsea are far more stronger than Monaco so it's going to be a tie that will be separated by little details.

Chelsea has the ability to beat PSG. Both teams are strong here. So it can be said that the chances of winning are equal for both.

But we have not seen good performance from Chelsea players in the last few matches. They lost against Arsenal. But in the previous two matches they shared points with Leeds United and Burnley. Burnley and Leeds are both quite weak teams. Even then Chelsea could not win. So I consider the chances of Chelsea winning at PSG's home in the first leg to be low.

[Abu-Naim]

Chelsea has the ability to beat PSG. Both teams are strong here. So it can be said that the chances of winning are equal for both.

But we have not seen good performance from Chelsea players in the last few matches. They lost against Arsenal. But in the previous two matches they shared points with Leeds United and Burnley. Burnley and Leeds are both quite weak teams. Even then Chelsea could not win. So I consider the chances of Chelsea winning at PSG's home in the first leg to be low.

The interesting fact about this Chelsea is that you can’t underrate them especially in the Champions league and other European competitions, they can do their best to win the games.

PSG will have to take the game very serious considering the fact that they got defeated by Chelsea that is not as strong as they were now when PSG is the world Champions the , and Chelsea defeated them in the club World Cup final; this shows that the match will be very interesting as none of them will give up in the game early.

I will be supporting Chelsea in the game because PSG is not also in form, so they will have to struggle to qualify to the quarter finals of the champions league; I think Chelsea can still win them or qualify ahead if of Bayern Munich.

[Taricoins]

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It seems difficult for Newcastle to beat Barcelona. This is not without reason as Newcastle performance this season has been very poor. They have failed to win in their last four matches across all competitions and their domestic league standings are also poor. This is in stark contrast to Barcelona, ​​who are in good form and have no serious squad issues.

So, I see Newcastle hopes of beating Barcelona in the first leg as difficult, even though the first leg will be played in front of their home fans. Furthermore, before facing Barcelona ​​they will face tough matches Manchester United in the Premier League and Manchester City in the FA Cup. So, failures in these matches will impact the match against Barcelona. I think Newcastle chances of stealing points are very slim against a team that is one of the strongest in the UCL this season.

Why would those other games impact the Barcelona game? I never really understand statements like these because those guys are top professionals. Of course teams can develop momentum, no doubt about that. But losing against Manchester United would have no meaning for any of the subsequent games.

It could actually be the opposite, if they are with the back against their wall and perhaps drop out of the FA Cup, it's clear that title chances drop significantly and they might even go harder against Barcelona.

By the way when you look at the results that Barcelona had recently, they are definitely not unbeatable. Atletico Madrid destroyed Barcelona in the Copa del Rey and if they can do it, I think it is not completely impossible to play a successful first leg. Two weeks ago Girona was able to beat them im La Liga, so nothing is set in stone yet.

I think what he was trying to illustrate is the mentality of a team especially if they in a downward slope performance, the losing or settling for less like a draw starts to creep and most times it takes the ability of a good gaffer to snap them out of it. Concerning the meeting with the two teams in Barcelona and Newcastle, it's clear that Barcelona will win, thesame you derived that Barcelona lost to ATM, same way it can be deduced that Newcastle lost to Everton and City so they are very much beatable.

[AGogi2003]

Chelsea has the ability to beat PSG. Both teams are strong here. So it can be said that the chances of winning are equal for both.

But we have not seen good performance from Chelsea players in the last few matches. They lost against Arsenal. But in the previous two matches they shared points with Leeds United and Burnley. Burnley and Leeds are both quite weak teams. Even then Chelsea could not win. So I consider the chances of Chelsea winning at PSG's home in the first leg to be low.

Anything can happen in football but with how Chelsea are playing in the league currently I don't think they can get the opportunity to defeat PSG in the Champions League this season. Let just wait and see how the first leg will be first and see who can get the opportunity to qualify for the next round in the Champions League this season. Chelsea need to do everything possible to win the first leg if they want to qualify for the next round, PSG are not performing very great like last season but let just see how the games will ends but I get the believe in Psg that they can qualify the next around and face Manchester City or real madrid.

[Amphenomenon]

That's absolutely true. We see this every year, not just this year. Who could have predicted that Juventus would lose 5-2 to Galatasaray in the first leg? We've seen many big teams lose to smaller teams in league matches as well. It's not right to speak definitively, and smaller teams always have a chance to win. The biggest mistake big teams can make is underestimating their opponents. No opponent is small, and every match is difficult.

You know, as the competition becomes tougher, the chances of bigger teams slipping off against smaller teams becomes smaller.

That aside, a game between Barcelona vs Arsenal is different, while Barcelona has a richer history currently we can't say they are bigger than Gunners in terms of performance.  Gunners have defeated two top teams in La Liga in the Champions League and both teams had a win against Barcelona this season. Ignoring this, Arsenal finished comfortably in the group stage this season.

While Arsenal are inconsistent for a fact Barcelona are no different and if both teams meet it will just be no different when two big teams play against each other.

[Different patterns]

I'll tell you for free, Newcastle isn't an ordinary team, they may have lots of inconsistencies, but they're a team I never pray to meet at crucial moments. Barcelona may win quite alright but it wouldn't be very easy for them. Barcelona now isn't so strong in form, Newcastle can challenge them to a great extent and possibly win them.

Chelsea and PSG would be a very intense match of which the two sides have good chances of scaling through, but currently PSG is in a better form and I'll not be surprised if they emerge to the round of 8

I don't think Newcastle can withstand Barcelona, they're an easy opponent and it won't be much hard for Barcelona especially now that Yamal is in form. Chelsea would be very tough for PSG but I think PSG would move to the next stage. Is not like I'm underrating Chelsea they'll have their own chances and even pressure PSG at some points but PSG will  qualify ahead of Chelsea.

Newcastle this season and also Chelsea are not very good compared to PSG and also Barcelona who are their opponents. We can see the difference between the two opponents who come from La Liga and French League 1, they are at the top of the standings, so it is very natural for us to judge that currently the two English league representatives have quite little potential to win, unless they face Arsenal or Manchester City, maybe we can think twice about saying that.

For me, I don't think a team like Chelsea can even win any trophy this season because what they have been playing have been very disappointing this season already, exactly the same way Manchester United have been inconsistent but when properly managed, they are now doing very well in the league, I believe there's something Chelsea is just missing out that's yet to be maximised by the coach because our players are good, they just need to have a more balanced and workable strategy to play with.

[Byebyebtc]

I'll tell you for free, Newcastle isn't an ordinary team, they may have lots of inconsistencies, but they're a team I never pray to meet at crucial moments. Barcelona may win quite alright but it wouldn't be very easy for them. Barcelona now isn't so strong in form, Newcastle can challenge them to a great extent and possibly win them.

Chelsea and PSG would be a very intense match of which the two sides have good chances of scaling through, but currently PSG is in a better form and I'll not be surprised if they emerge to the round of 8

I don't think Newcastle can withstand Barcelona, they're an easy opponent and it won't be much hard for Barcelona especially now that Yamal is in form. Chelsea would be very tough for PSG but I think PSG would move to the next stage. Is not like I'm underrating Chelsea they'll have their own chances and even pressure PSG at some points but PSG will  qualify ahead of Chelsea.

Well PSG are lucky that Enzo Maresca has left his role at Chelsea if not it would have been another shocking result for them as it was in the club world cup final, when majority of spectators were rooting for PSG, but they ended up losing to Chelsea. Chelsea might surprise PSG again that's what am just feeling. But the first leg of this fixture will largely determine who will qualify. PSG struggled to win Monaco in the playoffs round, and to me Chelsea are far more stronger than Monaco so it's going to be a tie that will be separated by little details.

I don't think this is about Enzo Maresca, so do you expect PSG to fear Chelsea because of Enzo.
Even in the club world cup I do feel that it was more of individual performance than what Enzo Maresca will do.

If they will fear Enzo Maresca they will fear Liam Rosenior more.

[Jegileman]

Chelsea has the ability to beat PSG. Both teams are strong here. So it can be said that the chances of winning are equal for both.

But we have not seen good performance from Chelsea players in the last few matches. They lost against Arsenal. But in the previous two matches they shared points with Leeds United and Burnley. Burnley and Leeds are both quite weak teams. Even then Chelsea could not win. So I consider the chances of Chelsea winning at PSG's home in the first leg to be low.

I always think we should not forget that the champions league performance is far different from the premier league performance. It is usually a different kind of strength these teams use to play in different competitions, so one should always get to understand that and also put it into consideration when judging on a team that has the more chances to score a goal in the competition.

PSG are the best team in their league whereas Chelsea are not in the premier league, but we shouldn’t forget that the nature of the league both teams play in are very different and will have significant impact in their performance in the champions league irrespective of the point each team got to finish on their table. This will be a very difficult game to predict, both teams are good and will show us a great performance.

[Dump3er]

I don't think this is about Enzo Maresca, so do you expect PSG to fear Chelsea because of Enzo.
Even in the club world cup I do feel that it was more of individual performance than what Enzo Maresca will do.

If they will fear Enzo Maresca they will fear Liam Rosenior more.

As if anyone fears any coach. Those coaches all have their bi of experience and I am sure that they don't waste a single second fearing another coach.

Liam Rosenoir hasn't won a single trophy as coach, it makes no sense at all to be afraid of him. And while they weren't playing well lately, Chelsea is still a team that is good enough to give PSG real problems.

Last season PSG was overwhelmingly strong in the UCL and now they finished 11th in the group stage and they are not as good in Ligue 1 either. Nevertheless PSG is used to the UCL pressure now and they have an excellent team. If I had to bet, PSG should go through and beat Chelsea. I think their individual quality per player is higher.

[Creeper0]

For me, I don't think a team like Chelsea can even win any trophy this season because what they have been playing have been very disappointing this season already, exactly the same way Manchester United have been inconsistent but when properly managed, they are now doing very well in the league, I believe there's something Chelsea is just missing out that's yet to be maximised by the coach because our players are good, they just need to have a more balanced and workable strategy to play with.

Chelsea have a big problem, despite having the ability, they are unable to play at their best. We saw their ability against Barcelona and against PSG, but why are they consistently failing? This question should definitely be asked to Liam Rosenior. I don't know why this problem is happening, the players are not able to perform independently? Or are they failing due to wrong tactics? This season has been very disappointing for them, I had high expectations for them after winning the FIFA Club World Cup.

[DiMarxist]

Chelsea fans should not be too over confident in the champions League by banking on past glory of about how they won the PSG. Let face fact Chelsea is struggling bad this season there performance has been up and down. So the probability of Chelsea playing a team like PSG at this current state they find themselves will be difficult.Chelsea should concentrate on playing well in the league so that they can make a champions League place next season, i don't see chelsea making it over PSG in this fixture.

[slapper]

I don't see Chelsea as a team that can do better than Paris Saint-Germain, on the contrary they are destined to suffer, then after the defeat against Arsenal they showed that they are not on par and that they are not able to do well or better than this, this is what i seem to see, clearly this is my impression.

If you're using Arsenal's result to scale Chelsea's power. So you're absolutely being clueless about how football is working. I tell you Chelsea has never ever beaten Arsenal since 2021, yet they beat PSG in the CWC last year. They're clearly moody team that can go up and down depending on what opponent they fought with.
So if you ask me how big chance owner by Chelsea to beat PSG. I will say Chelsea stance 50% chance to beat PSG.

I admit Chelsea looks abysmal in the league, but they can perform differently when it comes to the knock out competition like this. It's getting better with many of their players are also available. So we can expect them to perform with the full strength against PSG.
It's also the reason why PSG was even requested france football federation to delay their game against Nantes. They wanna have  better preparation against Chelsea.

Even PSG is not underestimating Chelsea, but why you do that?  

You said Arsenal result doesn't matter. Then in the same breath you said Chelsea is "moody". Those two things are connected literally though?? Like thats the whole point people bring Arsenal up.

Arsenal play almost exact same way as PSG do. In the press high, hold the ball, flood the wide channels. So when Chelsea can't beat them for 5 straight years - that's not a crazy comparison to make.

Still Chelsea beat PSG 3-0 at the Club World Cup. That happened. Palmer was ridiculous that night, two goals in like eight minutes, it was just identical strikes. Couldn't even distinguish the replays. And Pedro chipped Donnarumma. Honestly a bit disrespectful.

This chelsea team makes drops they should never drop. Like they threw away leads against Leeds, against Burnley, against teams fighting against relegation. NINE red cards this season. Their own goalkeeper was sent off once after four minutes. This is a fact.

So when the tie goes to leg 2 and it's tight. Who keeps eleven men on the pitch? That is my concern. How are they able to not literally implode?

50% seems too generous to Chelsea given everything. But i get why you feel it.

[mvdheuvel1983]

Chelsea fans should not be too over confident in the champions League by banking on past glory of about how they won the PSG. Let face fact Chelsea is struggling bad this season there performance has been up and down. So the probability of Chelsea playing a team like PSG at this current state they find themselves will be difficult.Chelsea should concentrate on playing well in the league so that they can make a champions League place next season, i don't see chelsea making it over PSG in this fixture.

Chelsea still has a good history over PSG so don't think they will not bank on it when they play PSG againin the champions League because that history may still repeat again and Chelsea will beat them again, PSG has not been performing well just like Chelsea both teams are struggling at the moment but seeing them playing together you should expect a very good encounter cause Chelsea has the champions League as one way to get the qualification ticket next season if they can't make the top4 in the league.

[Felicity_Tide]

Why would those other games impact the Barcelona game?.

A lot of sport fans are very fund of making predictions, not based on certain factors, but based on the team with a bigger achievement and club name across Europe. Is it not funny that despite how bad a lot of people claimed the premier league to be this very season, we still find those same premier league teams doing well in European competitions. Just imagine 5 out of the 5 premier league teams that qualify for the UCL, all made it to the RO16. Isn't that enough message that these guys are something else?.

Personally, I feel Barce has what it takes to move on to the next round, but trust me, Newcastle are never going to make it easy. I support one of the big teams In the premier league, but I have always never liked playing against Newcastle because of their level of physicality. Let's take the premier league games aside, I think Newcastle are definitely going to fight, but Barce are the favorites imo.