Newcastle’s league-phase campaign ended with them finishing in 12th position in the Champions League table, two points adrift of eighth-placed Manchester City, who filled the final automatic qualifying spot for the last 16.
The Magpies won three of their four home games, comfortably seeing off Benfica, Athletic Bilbao and PSV Eindhoven, and played pretty well in the only game they lost at St James’ Park against Barcelona.
Their away form was more patchy, although they couldn’t have done much more when thrashing Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0 and their draws against Bayer Leverkusen and Paris St Germain were reasonable results.
If there was a disappointment, it was probably November’s game in Marseille, which Newcastle led before conceding two goals in four minutes at the start of the second half. Had they beaten a Marseille side that ultimately failed to make the play-offs, they would have finished in the top eight.
WHO CAN THEY FACE IN THE PLAY-OFFS?
Having finished in 12th position, Newcastle are one of the seeded teams in the play-offs. With UEFA having pre-arranged the draw, the Magpies’ 12th position means they will face either the team that finished 21st in the league phase or the side that came 22nd.
That means they will be paired with either French side Monaco, who finished 21st after drawing 0-0 at home to Juventus yesterday, or Azerbaijani champions Qarabag, who ended up 22nd after rounding off their league-phase campaign with a 6-0 thrashing at Anfield.
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As one of the seeded teams, Newcastle will play the first leg of their play-off game away from home, meaning they will be heading to either Monte Carlo or Baku on Tuesday, February 17 or Wednesday, February 18.
The second leg at St James’ will take place in the following week, on either Tuesday, February 24 or Wednesday, February 25.
WHEN DOES THE DRAW TAKE PLACE?
The draw for the play-off matches will be staged in UEFA’s Nyon headquarters tomorrow (Friday, January 30) at 11am.
The draw will be broadcast live on TNT Sport 1 and can also be streamed on the UEFA website or UEFA Champions League app.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE LAST 16?
The brackets for the last 16 have already been pre-arranged, so Newcastle know the two potential opponents they could face if they win their play-off game.
The Magpies are in a section of the draw that pairs them with either Spanish league leaders Barcelona or Premier League rivals Chelsea in the last 16.
The last-16 matches are scheduled to take place on March 10-11 and March 17-18, and as Newcastle will be an unseeded team in that round if they make it through the play-offs, they would play the first leg at St James’ Park and be away for the second leg of the tie.
The draw for the last 16 takes place on February 27, and that will also determine the pathway of matches in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.