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Pedri has faced up against Newcastle twice this season, and has drawn seven fouls across those two meetings. He was fouled four times in the 1-1 draw between the sides last week, and should continue to be an influential player for the home side here.

One of the main reasons why Pedri invites challenges is how much control he is able to have over games. Everyone was raving about him after his display at St James’ Park earlier in the season, with that performance being the usual standard that Pedri sets for Barcelona.

Pedri has drawn 16 fouls across his six starts in the Champions League this season, working out to an average of 3.06 fouls won per 90. This average sits at 1.91 fouls won per 90 in LaLiga too, so Pedri has been pretty consistent when it comes to drawing fouls across various competitions.

I always like backing a player for fouls when I know that they will be on the ball constantly. Pedri is averaging just shy of 93 touches per game in the Champions League - so there should be plenty of opportunities for him to be dragged down here.

This selection has landed in both of the head-to-head meetings between the sides this season, with Barcelona committing nine fouls at St James’ Park last week and 12 when the sides clashed in the league phase.

Barcelona aren’t known for high foul numbers, but still sit at an average of 10.1 fouls committed per game in the Champions League - which is a slight increase on their numbers in LaLiga this term. Hansi Flick’s side play with plenty of risk, which can sometimes leads to them needing to make challenges to stop the direct threat to their goal.

Newcastle have drawn 9+ fouls from their opponents in eight of their 10 Champions League matches this season. Eddie Howe’s side have also drawn 9+ fouls in 24 of their 30 matches in the Premier League this season (80%), so this is also a pretty strong part of Newcastle’s game, which can help Barcelona cover the fouls line here.

Barcelona v Newcastle is a match that promises goals. The context, for one thing, points to an exciting, high-scoring game. Last season’s 14 Champions League second legs from the round of 16 onwards produced over 2.5 goals on 11 occasions.

On top of this, there’s the remarkable statistic that every single Barcelona home game across all competitions this season, with the exception of a 2-0 win over Osasuna, has produced at least three goals. In each of their last seven outings at Camp Nou, Barca have scored at least three themselves, including in the weekend’s 5-2 win over Sevilla.

Newcastle have not been shy of goals themselves. Prior to Saturday’s 1-0 win over Chelsea, the Magpies had been involved in six successive away days that had three or more goals. Meanwhile, 8/11 Newcastle UCL games this term have covered this bet.

The head-to-head also points to an exciting game. The two games between the clubs this season have seen 5.48 xG from a total of 54 shots.

Fresh from branding Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer “stupid” over his role as a substitute due to illness last week, Anthony Gordon is a man with a point to prove. He did so at Chelsea as he scored the only goal of the game – his second goal in as many starts.

While the 25-year-old is threatening to put an end to his disappointing Premier League season, he’s been one of Newcastle’s most eye-catching players in the Champions League this term, with 1.83 shots on target per 90, the highest among Eddie Howe’s players.

Of course, this has been inflated by the six shots he mustered against Qarabag in the last round, scoring four times, but this has been typical of his recent form. He has had a shot on target in seven of his last eight starts for the Toon. Away from him, he’s not shown any signs of allowing that figure to dip, with at least one shot on target in Newcastle’s last six.

Barcelona won’t faze him either. He’s consistently put up good shooting numbers against the bigger clubs: in recent away games, he managed three shots on target against Chelsea, two against Manchester City and two against Liverpool. He even managed a shot on target coming off the bench away to PSG in the group stage, so there’s little doubt he’s a man in form.