Newcastle United are back on the grandest stage of them all.
AC Milan await Eddie Howe’s side inside San Siro as Newcastle take to the Champions League for the first time in over twenty years.
After so many years in the proverbial footballing wilderness, it will be a fantastic occasion for the club and their supporters.
Still, Newcastle are not there to simply make up the numbers.
They are to be taken seriously by some of the most storied clubs around Europe and Milan manager Stefano Pioli has been speaking about the merits of Howe’s side.
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What Stefano Pioli has said about Newcastle’s style of play
Indeed, the Italian conducted a pre-match press conference (shown on YouTube) on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s huge game.
Asked about Newcastle’s style of play under Howe, Pioli replied: “I don’t know if we can compare them to any Italian teams because I do think they’re the classic English team with a lot of intensity, a high tempo in the way they press, [they are] a physical side.
“Newcastle are a team with five players who are six-foot plus, they’re very good from set-pieces and they’ve got a lot of quality.”
Newcastle can get at this AC Milan team
Saturday was a bad day for Milan.
They were thrashed 5-1 by city rivals Inter and have one of the worst defensive records in Serie A (albeit at an early stage of the season) having conceded seven times in four games.
Newcastle, at their best, are full of goals. Capable of putting five past Aston Villa only a few weeks ago, there is little reason to fear Milan’s backline.
That’s not to suggest Howe’s team will find it as easy as Inter did but there’s certainly reason to feel confident about at least getting on the scoresheet.