Newcastle United’s Premier League fixtures are set to be released - but have the Premier League already dropped a big hint on their opening day opponents?
The Premier League's official 2025/26 fixture list will be officially released at 9am on Wednesday, June 18. Newcastle United will be informed of their fixtures beforehand.
As a result, sometimes fixtures get leaked. Most are incorrect, but some can prove to be right on the money.
And for Newcastle United it’s shaping up to be an interesting start to the season.
Newcastle United opening day opponents ‘leaked’
Newcastle United are set to travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa on the opening day of the Premier League season on August 16.
The Magpies have had mixed fortunes as Villa Park in recent season, having lost 4-1 to Unai Emery’s side back in April. They won 3-1 at Villa the season prior but lost 3-0 the season before that.
Villa and Newcastle have often been high scoring games in recent seasons with Newcastle winning each of their last three games against The Villains at St James’ Park by an aggregate score of 12-1.
Newcastle and Villa have rekindled a competitive rivalry in recent seasons as both clubs strive to be the ‘best of the rest’ having broken into the top six in recent seasons. Villa have qualified for all three European competitions over the past three seasons while Newcastle have now qualified for the Champions League twice.
The Magpies confirmed a top five finish at Villa’s expense on the final day of the 2024/25 season on May 25. Despite losing 1-0 to Everton on the day, they finished ahead of Villa on goal difference as Emery’s side lost 2-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The match was subject to some controversy as Villa saw Emi Martinez sent off before having a goal controversially disallowed that would have put them in front.
Ultimately, Villa had to settle for Europa League football while Newcastle prepare to compete in the Champions League once again.
Premier League tease opening day fixture?
The Premier League’s announcement of the ‘key summer dates’ earlier this month displayed Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United and Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa above the ‘16 August, season starts’ graphic.
The graphic also included Chelsea and Manchester City under the FIFA Club World Cup date as well as Bournemouth and West Ham United under the Premier League Summer Series date. So pairing Newcastle and Villa together for the opening day date, whether intentional or not, dropped a hint about what was to come.
Premier League key summer dates showing Newcastle United and Aston Villa.placeholder image
Premier League key summer dates showing Newcastle United and Aston Villa. | Premier League
The Premier League season will run until May 24, with the Premier League explaining: “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.”
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