Newcastle travel to Germany buoyed by a strong domestic run, having secured a fourth straight unbeaten Premier League [WWDW] outing with a 2-1 victory over Burnley. Seven wins from their last 11 competitive matches [7W, 1D, 3L] underline their growing confidence, even if their UCL Matchday five 2-1 defeat to Marseille ended their sequence of three consecutive European wins [WWW] without reply and saw them slip from top eight to 11th place on nine points [3W, 0D, 2L]. History offers mixed signals for the Magpies: they famously beat Leverkusen 3-1 both home and away in their only previous European encounters back in 2002/03, yet they have since gone three games without a win against German teams [0W, 1D, 2L]. Their away record in Europe also raises caution, with just two victories across their last 13 continental road fixtures [2W, 6D, 5L]. There are fitness concerns for the Toon Army as defenders Sven Botman and Kieran Trippier are in the treatment room. Eddie Howe is expected to stick with a 4—3—3 formation, with Nick Woltemade, Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy forming a trident attacking line.