Newcastle United and Sunderland will compete in the same Premier League season for the first time in nine years.
Eddie Howe’s side return for pre-season on Monday, July 7 before gearing up for the new Premier League campaign with friendlies against Celtic, Arsenal, the K-League All Stars, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid.
The Magpies first travel to Glasgow before jetting off to Singapore and Seoul to face Arsenal, the K-League All Stars and Spurs. The visit of Atletico Madrid to St James’ Park on Saturday, August 9 then rounds off the pre-season programme.
When does the 2025-26 Premier League season get underway?
The 2025-26 Premier League season will commence across the weekend of Saturday, August 16. The final round of matches will be played simultaneously on Sunday, May 24.
The Premier League explains: “The schedule continues to allow more rest time for players over the festive match-round period, with no two rounds taking place within 60 hours of each other. This is in keeping with commitments made to clubs to address the congested Christmas and New Year schedule.
“The 2025/26 season will consist of 33 weekends and five midweek match rounds The start date of 16 August allows for the maximum player rest time available – 83 clear days – from the end of the 2024/25 season.
“The season end date of 24 May 2026 ensures the Premier League season finishes ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup call-up period. There will be no fixture on 24 December 2025.”
Will Newcastle United be home or away on the opening day of the season?
Newcastle have played at home on the opening day in each of Eddie Howe’s three full seasons in charge, beating Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Southampton. However, this time around, Howe’s side are expected to be away.
That is because local rivals Sunderland need to play away on the second weekend of the season due to the Stadium of Light hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup match against England v USA.
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The Premier League hints: “Most clubs will have a partner club with whom they cannot clash, such as Manchester United and Manchester City, or Liverpool and Everton. In London it gets a bit more complex and less obvious.
“We look at whether we have clubs from the same area travelling on the same train lines across the Football League and the Premier League on the same day. We want to avoid having ‘pinch points’ on the rail and road network.”
Newcastle have started with a home fixture in 11 of the last 13 Premier League seasons, the exceptions being West Ham United in 2020-21 and Manchester City in 2013-14.
The Tyne-Wear derby returns
Sunderland’s promotion to the Premier League following an eight-year absence confirms the first top-flight Tyne-Wear derby since 2015-16. Newcastle won 3-0 at the Stadium of Light in the FA Cup in January 2024 but before that, the two sides hadn't met since a 1-1 draw at St. James' Park in March 2016.
Leeds United and Burnley have also been promoted from the Championship with Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton relegated, meaning some shorter trips for Newcastle next season.
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