Identity, intensity and impact: Les Parisiens discuss Newcastle clash

After a 20-year absence, Newcastle United are back in the most prestigious European competition of all. For their return to the UEFA Champions League, the Tynesiders are promising to pull out all the stops, with a special atmosphere set to greet Les Parisiens at St James' Park, but the capital club's players are used to European away days by now and certainly aren't planning to let themselves be intimidated, as Lucas Hernandez made clear in yesterday's pre-match press conference: "We know tomorrow will be a big Champions League game. It'll be up to us to give everything on the pitch to take home the three points. We know that it'll be a home game for them, in front of their own fans, so it'll be a high-intensity game. We'll have to get off to a good start and stay focused and aggressive in order to create chances, and we hope to win this game in the best possible way. Knowing how to manage our strengths and weaknesses will also be important, and we have a lot of experienced players to do that."

With Les Rouge et Bleu currently topping the group following their win over Dortmund as well as the 0-0 draw between AC Milan and Newcastle on Matchday 1, tonight's match is a crucial one. A win for the capital club at St James' Park would allow for a calmer approach to the rest of the group stage, but before his players start getting ahead of themselves, coach Luis Enrique would rather focus on the present: "Nobody in Europe or in the world can say that Newcastle can't get past the group stage. They're a team full of quality, and they'll be playing in front of their own fans. Playing in matches like this is a wonderful thing, and I envy my players, who'll be on the pitch tomorrow, for being able to play in this kind of game."

Les Parisiens will be hoping to focus on principles such as identity, intensity and impact this evening, as Manuel Ugarte vouched for in an interview with the club: "For me, the most important thing is to focus on ourselves. We should focus on our opponents, too, but more so on playing our own way. We know that if we play well, we'll win. I'd like myself and the team to play like we did in Le Classique. We know that the Champions League is tough, but it'll be easier if we all pull together."

Finally, the Uruguayan midfielder also revealed one of the keys to the game, which happens to be in his area of the pitch: "First of all, we need to see how Newcastle press, and we need to try to find the free man every time to escape their press. It depends a lot on each player's individual qualities, but we're still confident and hoping to win the game. Newcastle have a very strong midfield with some very good players, but I'm confident in myself and in my teammates."

Tune in at 21:00 CET tonight for what promises to be a heavweight European clash!