Barcelona must deal without a superstar winger Raminyarmal He returned to Manchester City earlier than expected for a trip to Newcastle in the Champions League on Thursday Kevin de Bruin.
In the final batch of the first round of the league stage match, Kairat, a tournament rookie from Almaty in Kazakhstan, will also visit Sports Lisbon after three time zones and a trekking that exceeds over 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles).
The 18-year-old Yamal will not appear in Barca due to injuries, so some star power will be missing at St. James Park.
Yamal, heir to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, is a major boost for Newcastle, which is launching its second Champions League campaign under Saudi Arabian ownership, as the team that will become the first European champions since 2015 could become the first European champions. For the 2023-24 season, Newcastle finished the group’s bottom in an old format.
De Bruyne said emotional farewell to the city in May after a decade of stint.
Four months later, the Belgian midfielder is back at Etihad Stadium, but in a new team Napoli jersey, he tries to commission City for another slow start to the Champions League.
Last season, Pep Guardiola’s team was held 0-0 by another Italian club Inter Milan, and was rubbed into the playoff round, where they lost to Real Madrid. City has improved slightly in a year. Norwegian striker Erling Haaland is looking to add 49 goals in six club and country games this season, scoring 11 goals and adding to 48 Champions League appearances.
In other games, Eintracht Frankfurt hosts the Galatasaray team, who won the Bayer Leverkusen, all five games in the Turkish League. New coach Kasper Hjulmand travels to FC Copenhagen, where Club Bruges hosts Monaco.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
