Newcastle v AC Milan LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as Magpies crash out of Europe

2 mins: Newcastle charge forward early on but Joelinton is a bit rough and barrels over an AC Milan player to give away a free-kick.

Let them know you’re there etc...

Underway at St James’ Park. Remember, Newcastle need to win and have PSG fail to beat Borussia Dortmund in order to qualify. We’ll keep you updated on both games

Only minutes until kick-off now on a huge night at St James’ Park. Warm-ups complete and the fans are rocking

A reminder of tonight’s permutations in terms of qualification:

Simply put - Newcastle must beat AC Milan and hope Paris Saint-Germain either draw or lose away to Borussia Dortmund, who are already through to the last 16. Any other result for Newcastle will not be enough to reach the knockouts.

PSG will be through to the last 16 with a win, or with a draw if the Magpies fail to win at St James’ Park. PSG will only go through with a defeat if AC Milan and Newcastle draw. Milan will qualify if they beat Newcastle and Dortmund beat PSG.

Newcastle will drop into the Europa League if they draw against Milan and finish level on points with the Italians.

Newcastle United will play host to AC Milan in a seismic showdown and betting apps are anticipating a home win.

Both teams need the three points at St. James’ Park to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

A victory would be enough for Newcastle if Paris Saint-Germain draw with or lose to Borussia Dortmund. However, Milan must win in England and hope that PSG lose in Germany.

The stakes could hardly be higher and we should be in store for an engaging encounter in front of a raucous home crowd.

Here are three tips for bets to make:

Here’s a reminder of tonight’s line-ups with about 20 minutes until kick-off. Callum Wilson starts for Newcastle

Newcastle XI: Dubravka; Trippier, Lascelles, Schar, Livramento; Joelinton, Guimaraes, Miley; Almiron, Wilson, Gordon

AC Milan XI: Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Hernandez, Florenzi; Loftus-Cheek, Reijnders, Musah; Pulisic, Giroud, Leao

Here’s what Eddie Howe has had to say about this evening’s encounter

The Premier League would be at risk of missing out on an extra Champions League place next season should Manchester United and Newcastle United fail to make it out of the group stages of this year’s competition.

The group stages of the Champions League are changing next season with the introduction of a ‘Swiss-style’ format, while four additional teams will be added to take the number of clubs to 36.

That means there will be four extra places up for grabs, with Uefa awarding two of them to the countries who collectively performed best in Europe in the previous season.

This is calculated by Uefa’s association club coefficient table and an average score is produced by dividing the total number of points won throughout the year by the number of clubs involved.

Eddie Howe is dreaming of a “magical European night” as Newcastle attempt to book their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Head coach Howe will go into tonight’s must-win clash with AC Milan at St James’ Park with back-up keeper Martin Dubravka having emerged as yet another selection doubt, but knowing that a win over the Serie A giants could be enough for the Magpies to extend their stay at Europe’s top table.

While injury-plagued Newcastle’s fate is not in their own hands – even victory would mean they would slip into the Europa League should Paris St Germain win at Borussia Dortmund, while defeat would see them finish bottom of Group F – the man who guided them into the competition for the first time in 20 years is allowing himself to hope.

AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli has insisted he had no idea Sandro Tonali had a gambling problem before he was sold to Champions League opponents Newcastle.

The 23-year-old Italy international joined the Magpies in a £55million summer switch from Milan and played in a 0-0 draw against his former club in their Champions League Group F opener at San Siro in September.

However, he is now serving a 10-month ban for breaches of betting regulations during his time in Italy, robbing the Tyneside club of a key man for the remainder of this season.

Asked if he knew about Tonali’s problem when he was sold, Pioli said at his press conference at St James’ Park on Tuesday evening: “No, I didn’t know anything about Sandro’s problem.

“He was very polite, respected and respectful to others, he was a very sensible boy.”