Newcastle must continue to show some characteristic backbone if they are to keep their chances of reaching the knockout stages on the boil as they face the daunting task of being without the spine of their team when they face in .
The Magpies squad is being stretched with the roll call in their treatment room reaching double figures.
The likes of Alexander Isak, Harvey Barnes and were already absentees and now the influential Dan Burn has joined them on the sick list.
Despite missing so many core players, Eddie Howe’s battlers produced a superb performance on Tyneside on Saturday of the Premier League season.
And although Anthony Gordon’s winner needed a triple VAR check before it was allowed to stand, the subsequent controversy should not detract from the fact that Newcastle were the better side.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were kept quiet and the Gunners only had one shot on target despite enjoying the lion’s share of the possession.
Dortmund’s defence is also blessed with a reputation for being watertight – at least it was until it bumped into England captain Harry Kane at the weekend. He shocked home fans at Signal Iduna Park with a stunning hat-trick as the defending champions ran out comfortable 4-0 winners.
Dortmund will hope that was nothing more than a blip and they are currently ahead of Newcastle in the Group F standing thanks to their head-to-head record after the 1-0 win at St James’ Park a fortnight ago.
Paris Saint-Germain are two points clear of the pair and can extend their advantage by beating AC Milan at the San Siro, which is 5/4 with Ladbrokes, Coral and Betway, so it’s imperative the Magpies avoid defeat.
They can do that by returning home with a point at 27/10 with BetUK while under 2.5 goals is 23/10 with Ladbrokes, Coral and Betfair. Miguel Almiron is 15/4 to score with Unibet and a 1-1 final result is 6/1 with Betway.
• Manchester City cruised to a 3-1 victory against Young Boys on their artificial pitch two weeks ago and they will be chasing more goals in the return match at the Etihad Stadium after battering Bournemouth 6-1 on Saturday. Over 5.5 goals is 11/2 with Paddy Power and Bernardo Silva is 7/2 with Coral, Betfair and Sky Bet to score at any time.
• Ipswich, Bolton, Bristol Rovers, Peterborough and Colchester form Tuesday’s Football League acca.
