Comments and predictions for Newcastle vs Atletico Madrid: Thrilling victory

Latest Newcastle vs Atletico Madrid team information

Newcastle named a strong line-up for Friday's draw with Espanyol, and it is unclear how many of those players will be available on Saturday.

Joe Willock is a definite absentee with a calf injury, while Sven Botman has missed the last three games with a groin injury picked up in the defeat to Arsenal nearly two weeks ago.

Aaron Ramsdale saved a penalty on his debut against Espanyol, but Nick Pope is likely to return to the starting line-up. Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall, Bruno Guimaraes, Lewis Miley, Will Osula and new signing Seung-Soo Park – who all featured against Espanyol – could all be rested.

Isak is still out, so Anthony Gordon could start up front. Elanga, Barnes, Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento and Jamaal Lascelles – who didn’t play last time out – could all be used.

On Atletico's side, coach Simeone is expected to give many key players a chance to play to help them gain fitness and rhythm before the new season. Since this is the last friendly match, Atletico will likely field a strong squad.

Julian Alvarez – last season's top scorer with 29 goals – is one of four former Premier League players, alongside Conor Gallagher, Clement Lenglet and Alexander Sorloth, likely to feature this weekend.

Jose Gimenez could partner Lenglet or Hancko at centre-back in front of Jan Oblak, while Baena and Giuliano Simeone could provide support from the flanks for the forward duo of Alvarez and Griezmann.

Latest predicted lineup Newcastle vs Atletico Madrid

Newcastle United:

Pope; Livramento, Lascelles, Heffernan, A. Murphy; Hernes, Tonali, Joelinton; Elanga, Gordon, Barnes

Atletico Madrid:

Oblak; Molina, Gimenez, Hancko, Ruggeri; Baena, Gallagher, Koke, Simeone; Griezmann, Alvarez

Latest Newcastle vs Atletico Madrid football review

After ending a 70-year trophy drought by winning the English League Cup and finishing 5th in the Premier League last season to qualify for the Champions League, Newcastle hoped to continue to break through and strengthen their squad to be competitive in all competitions in the 2025-26 season. However, the summer transfer market brought them many disappointments.

In fact, the Magpies have missed out on many important targets, most recently Benjamin Sesko choosing to join Manchester United, while key striker Alexander Isak – who is being linked with a record deal to Liverpool – has been training separately, not with the first team.

Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale are the only two experienced recruits Newcastle have brought in. The team has not won any of its five friendlies, losing all three to Celtic (0-4), Arsenal (2-3) and the K-League team (0-1), before drawing 1-1 with Tottenham last Sunday.

Harvey Barnes equalised after Brennan Johnson’s early strike as Newcastle ended a “challenging” Asian tour on a positive note. Manager Eddie Howe praised his players’ spirit in getting the draw, but admitted there was “not much time” left to add to a number of key positions before the start of the season.

Newcastle looked set for their first win of the pre-season, leading Espanyol 2-1 thanks to goals from Matt Targett and Jacob Murphy, but former Middlesbrough striker Kike Garcia equalised in the 89th minute to make it 2-2.

Howe and his players will be looking to end the friendly campaign with a positive result at St James' Park, before heading into the clash with Atletico Madrid. In 13 competitive matches against Spanish teams, Newcastle have won six and lost seven.

In contrast to Newcastle, Atletico Madrid have been very active in the transfer market, spending more than 150 million euros to bring in 9 new players, including notable deals such as creative midfielder Alex Baena from Villarreal and central defender David Hancko from Feyenoord.

Entering his 14th season in charge, coach Diego Simeone is determined to improve Atletico's performance after a trophyless season in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, and then continued to disappoint when being eliminated in the group stage of the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this summer.

Atletico's pre-season began on August 3 with a friendly against Porto in a tribute to the late Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. The Portuguese side won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Victor Froholdt in first-half stoppage time.

Atletico were then held to a 1-1 draw by Espanyol in a practice match at the Majadahonda on Wednesday, with Antoine Griezmann equalising after the visitors had taken an early lead.

Atletico – who have won just 14 of their 39 games against English clubs (D13 L12) – will be keen to close out their friendlies with a win over Newcastle, before facing Espanyol in their La Liga opener on 17 August.

Latest Newcastle vs Atletico Madrid score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Newcastle vs Atletico Madridas follows:

• Sportsmole:Newcastle 1-2 Atletico Madrid

• WhoScore:Newcastle 0-2 Atletico Madrid
• Our newspaper predicts:Newcastle 1-2 Atletico Madrid

When and where to watch Newcastle vs Atletico Madrid live?

To watch live the Newcastle vs Atletico Madrid match taking place at 22:00 on August 9, viewers can watch it on online sports channels. Wish you all have fun watching football.