After our biggest win of the season and a brilliant bounce-back performance against Man City on Saturday, we return to Champions League action in much better spirits.

We looked back to that high-energy, all-action and top-quality Eddie Howe side we all know and love over the weekend, so the challenge now is maintaining those standards as we face two tricky away games this week.

First up is a Marseille side who momentarily went top of Ligue 1 after battering OGC Nice 5-1 on Friday night, with Roberto De Zerbi’s team flying in the league despite a tough start to their Champions League campaign (W1, L3).

For Newcastle, it’s a chance to build on our superb start in Europe after three wins on the spin over Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao (without conceding) leaves us sixth out of 36 and in with a great chance of making the knockout stages at the halfway mark in the tournament.

Discussing the game and challenge ahead, Howe said: “We are in the thick of the Champions League, we have to try and win each game. It’s a nice stadium, I am sure the atmosphere will be red hot, we need to make sure we use that to make our performance stronger.”

“We have travelled early; we will train at the stadium. Tomorrow (Tuesday) our preparation will be slightly different. The most important decision is how we play. The midfield battle will be key for us; we need to do well technically with the ball. This will be a really tough game for us, but we feel we can rise to the challenge.”

Team news

Anthony Gordon is fit again after overcoming a hip issue, Dan Burn is back from suspension and Emil Krafth is also available again, with 16-year-old youngster Sam Alabi also spotted with the squad.

Kieran Trippier (hamstring) has been ruled out, with strikers Yoane Wissa (knee) and Will Osula (ankle) out again.

For Marseille, the hosts will be without centre-backs Nayef Aguerd and Facundo Medina, with right-back Amir Murillo also set to miss out.

Predicted XI

(4-3-3): Pope – Livramento, Thiaw, Schar, Burn – Bruno, Tonali, Joelinton – Elanga, Gordon, Barnes.

Discussing potential rotation in his pre-match press conference, Howe said: “I’ve said many, many times this season that trusting the squad is really important. We have a squad of players who will be desperate to play.

“I do trust everybody but I think we have the depth to play these games. But playing the same players in every game will not help us achieve our objective. Every game is different, certain players will suit certain games so that is the decision I have to make.”

This doesn’t reveal who he will pick, but offers a strong hint towards rotating and ‘trusting the squad’ to produce, meaning changes appear to be likely to ensure a fresh and firing 11 are then ready to tackle Everton on Saturday.

With that in mind, I think we’ll see Burn, Elanga and Gordon come into the side, meaning Schar, Hall, Murphy and Woltemade drop to the bench.

That means starting without our £69m striker and protecting Hall, but I think Woltemade’s minutes may need to be managed as we head into a hectic run of games with (currently) no Wissa or Osula to call on.

If we can absorb pressure and hit on the counter, it could be a game that’s well suited to Elanga’s pace on the counter, although I do think Joelinton may keep his place ahead of Ramsey in order to defend against Marseille’s dangerous right side.

Burn at left-back is not ideal, but it may be necessary with Tino needed at right-back in Trippier’s absence and Hall unable to start three times in seven days, you would think. The big man vs Greenwood (the top scorer in Ligue 1) is a worry, but we have won 4-0, 3-0 and 2-0 with Burn at left-back in our last three UCL games…

Match prediction

At home in Ligue 1, Marseille have won five and drawn one of their six games this season, scoring 21 goals in that period and beating PSG to nil.

While they have lost three of four Champions League games, they’ve lost narrowly to Real Madrid (2-1), Sporting Lisbon (2-1) and Atalanta (0-1), meaning their 25th-placed position in the current league table may be slightly misleading.

Considering the rotation I expect, the big effort we put in on Saturday and our recent away form, I’m not confident of a win but think we might just come away with a precious point to keep us ticking along nicely in the table.

Prediction: Marseille 1-1 Newcastle

Howay the lads!