Newcastle Land Qarabag Tie as Mourinho's Benfica Get Real Madrid Rematch

Newcastle have been paired with Qarabag in the Champions League play-off round, setting up a gruelling back-to-back fixture schedule that will test Eddie Howe's squad to the limit.

The Magpies fell just short of securing an automatic last-16 berth after drawing 1-1 with Paris Saint-Germain in their final league phase outing. With Monaco and Qarabag as the possible opponents, fortune has handed them a trip to Azerbaijan.

Newcastle will venture to Baku for the first leg on February 17 or 18, sandwiched awkwardly between their FA Cup fourth-round visit to Aston Villa and a Premier League clash with Manchester City. The return fixture takes place at St James' Park seven days later – a gruelling schedule that demands peak fitness and focus.

Qarabag may not carry the continental pedigree of some rivals, but they've proven themselves no pushovers. Three wins from eight league phase matches tells its own story, with notable scalps including Benfica, Eintracht Frankfurt and Copenhagen. They even managed to hold a rotated Chelsea side to a draw in their home stadium. Still, Newcastle possess the quality to progress if they replicate the resilience displayed against PSG.

Should the Magpies navigate past the Azerbaijanis, either Chelsea or Barcelona await in the next round. The draw has been kind in one respect – Newcastle cannot meet PSG or Real Madrid until a potential final, as both sit on the opposite side of the bracket.

Elsewhere, Jose Mourinho's Benfica will face Real Madrid once more, reigniting a tie that produced drama of the highest order on Wednesday evening. Benfica goalkeeper Antoliy Trubin's stoppage-time strike proved decisive in keeping Mourinho's side alive in the competition.

The play-offs promise compelling viewing: Monaco versus PSG, Galatasaray against Juventus, Borussia Dortmund taking on Atalanta and Club Brugge facing Atletico Madrid complete an intriguing slate of fixtures.