Final Champions League 2025/26 table - here's where Newcastle United are predicted to finish after 3-0 win
Newcastle United did their hopes of Champions League progression no harm with a 3-0 win over Benfica.
Newcastle United enjoyed a memorable 3-0 win over Benfica on Tuesday night, giving their chances of Champions League knockout qualification a huge boost in the process.
The Magpies put the Portuguese giants, two-time European champions and seven-time finalists to the sword thanks to a first-half strike from Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes’ brace after the break. It’s a result that backs up Newcastle’s biggest-ever Champions League win last time out when they beat Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0 in Brussels, while it’s the first time United have won back-to-back Champions League matches since February 2003.
Newcastle are battling out in the new 36-team group phase for the first time, with their last Champions League campaign two years ago the final time the four-team group format was used. And these last two wins have done no harm to their chances of knockout qualification, with Eddie Howe’s men now sitting eighth with six points from three games, level with the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Barcelona - the latter of whom beat them in Matchday One.
The top eight in the group go directly into the round-of-16, while ninth to 24th go into a play-off round, with the bottom 12 - currently occupied by big names such as Juventus, Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen, Ajax and Tuesday’s opponents, Benfica - exiting Europe entirely.
Champions League group phase predicted table
Following the win over Union SG, the Opta supercomputer predicted Newcastle to finish 13th with 12.93 expected points, just missing out on an automatic last 16 spot but reaching the play-off round, safely sandwiched between Italian sides Atalanta and Napoli in the table.
Now, Opta’s projection is looking much healthier, with their expected points going up to 14.09, which is enough for an 11th-place prediction - just behind Borussia Dortmund but ahead of Tottenham Hotspur. While still not enough to automatically reach the last 16, it shows the Magpies trending in the right direction ahead of their next Champions League fixture at home to Athletic Club in November.
36. Kairat - 3.39xpts
35. Ajax - 5.13xpts
34. FC Copenhagen - 5.84xpts
33. Bodo/Glimt - 6.46xpts
32. Slavia Prague - 6.60xpts
31. Pafos - 7.29xpts
30. Benfica - 7.44xpts
29. Olympiacos - 7.60xpts
28. Athletic Club - 7.84xpts
27. Bayer Leverkusen - 8.17xpts
26. Union Saint-Gilloise - 8.47xpts
25. Monaco - 8.49xpts
24. Villarreal - 8.53xpts
23. Eintracht Frankfurt - 8.57xpts
22. PSV Eindhoven - 8.97xpts
21. Marseille - 9.03xpts
20. Juventus - 9.62xpts
19. Club Brugge - 9.64xpts
18. Qarabag - 10.27xpts
17. Atalanta - 10.78xpts
16. Atletico Madrid - 11.14xpts
15. Napoli - 11.15xpts
14. Sporting CP - 11.90xpts
13. Galatasaray - 12.25xpts
12. Tottenham Hotspur - 13.17xpts
11. Newcastle United - 14.09xpts
10. Borussia Dortmund - 14.23xpts
9. Chelsea - 15.32xpts
8. Barcelona - 15.43xpts
7. Liverpool - 16.07xpts
6. Inter - 16.92xpts
5. Real Madrid - 16.95xpts
4. Bayern Munich - 17.10xpts
3. Manchester City - 17.22xpts
2. Paris Saint-Germain - 18.63xpts
1. Arsenal - 19.53xpts
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Newcastle United’s remaining Champions League group stage fixtures
- 02/11/25 - Athletic Club - home
- 25/11/25 - Marseille - away
- 10/12/25 - Bayer Leverkusen - away
- 21/01/26 - PSV Eindhoven - home
- 28/01/26 - Paris Saint-Germain - away
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