Newcastle and Athletic Club have faced twice before in European competition, with the Basque side eliminating the Magpies from the last 32 of the UEFA Cup in 1994-95 (3-3 on aggregate over two legs, progressed on away goals).

Athletic Club’s previous away match at Newcastle came in a 3-2 defeat in the first leg of their last 32 UEFA Cup tie in October 1994. Overall, Athletic have only won one of their 10 matches away to English sides in Europe (D1 L8), with that victory coming at Manchester United in March 2012 under Marcelo Bielsa (3-2 in the UEFA Europa League – first leg of a last 16 tie).