What Newcastle United need v AC Milan to qualify in Champions League as Borussia Dortmund favour required

Newcastle United’s date with destiny will arrive on Wednesday when they host Italian giants AC Milan at St James' Park in their final Champions League group stage fixture.

Despite many outsiders claiming the Magpies were emerge with little credit after being drawn in the ‘group of death’ with Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain, Eddie Howe’s men still have a chance to extend their European adventure into the new year.

It has been a memorable group stage campaign for Newcastle after they battled to credible draws in Milan and Paris, as well as thrashing the Ligue 1 champions on a night for the ages at St James Park.  However, home and away defeats against Dortmund mean the Magpies still have work to do if they want to reach the knockout stages of UEFA’s premier cup competition.

How can Newcastle United qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League?

Quite simply, to stand any chance of progression beyond the group stage, Newcastle HAVE to claim a win against AC Milan on Wednesday night and hope results elsewhere go their way. Should they win, it will be all eyes on events in Germany as already qualified Borussia Dortmund host Paris Saint-Germain.

The Magpies need the Ligue 1 champions to fail to pick up maximum points as any other result would see Kylian Mbappe’s side progress into the knockout rounds at the Magpies expense. PSG will also go through if Newcastle and Milan draw at St James Park, even if they fail to beat Dortmund.

There is just one scenario that would see Milan progress and that would be if they secure a win on Tyneside and Dortmund see off PSG at Signal Iduna Park.

How can Newcastle United qualify for the Europa League?

Every club that finishes the group stage campaign in third place will automatically take their place in the knockout rounds of the Europa League.  For Newcastle, the scenario for that is simple - avoid defeat against Milan and they secure third place and extend their European adventure into the new year, albeit in UEFA’s secondary continental competition. It will see them drop into the Europa League knockout round, where they will be drawn against one of the teams who finish second in their Europa League group, with teams who finish first in their Europa League group heading straight to the round of 16 in the competition.