Joe Buck reacts as the Premier League publish the fixture list for the 2024/25 season. Newcastle United will begin the season against Southampton at St James' Park and end it at home against Everton. Boxing Day sees them come up against Aston Villa, again at home, but they face a tricky Christmas period with trips to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur to follow.
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00:00So, the 2024-25 Premier League fixtures have been announced and the big story for Newcastle
00:06is they will kick off the season at home to Southampton. Now, Southampton are newly promoted
00:10of course but it leads in that play-off final last month so that will be a good test of
00:14certainly where they're at for the season and certainly Newcastle will fancy their chances
00:18to get off to a good start. We saw a couple of years ago they beat Nottingham Forest at
00:21home on the first game of the season, again a newly promoted side and that was a real
00:26good field day match and set them on the start of the season which ended in Champions
00:33League qualification. Of course, last year they beat Aston Villa 5-1 in a fantastic match
00:37at St James' on the first game of the season. So, they'll be confident of getting a win
00:41there and really setting their season off on the right foot. It's going to be a big
00:47year next year and if they can get points on the board and get a good start, that'll
00:50be one that we're hopeful of. Then they travel to Bournemouth away the week after, that's
00:54a tough fixture. Newcastle have traditionally not done very well at Bournemouth and over
00:59the last couple of years they've struggled against Andoni Arreola's side and Gary O'Neill's
01:03previous so that'll be a tough game. Then of course, the one after that is the one that
01:07a lot of people are waiting for, Tottenham Hotspur at home. They return to Sandro Tonali,
01:12that's the first game he'll be eligible to play, a competitive game. That'll be a big
01:17moment if he makes that squad, if he makes the team on that day, to see him back in action.
01:23Tottenham Hotspur's schedule for August 31st, obviously, the games other than the first
01:27game of the season, which is definitely a 3pm kick-off on August 17th, these can all
01:30be moved for TV. So, that Tottenham one, I would guess, would probably be moved for TV.
01:33I think that's one that TV companies like to show. So, when that's moved, that'll probably
01:37move from the 3 o'clock slot but of course, there's nothing to guarantee that. Looking
01:42further on, of course, Boxing Day. They return to Aston Villa, so another home game on Boxing
01:47Day and yeah, Villa are going to be very tough opponents. Newcastle did the double over them
01:53in A2 on aggregate last year but they're always going to be a difficult match, so that'll
01:57be a real big one. Again, I fancy that one might be getting moved on Boxing Day, that
02:00single one that the TV companies might want to show. Both games were really good last
02:05year and I can see that getting moved, even if it's still on Boxing Day, maybe not the
02:093 o'clock kick-off that day. Looking to the end of the season, finish the season again
02:13at home to Everton, that's a huge thing as well. We all know Newcastle's form at home.
02:18It did last year but the season four was certainly fantastic and they'll fancy a chance against
02:21anyone at home and of course Everton, they'll fancy themselves to get a result there and
02:26know that they can end the season off in style and they're really going to have to focus
02:30on that game because the month of May is a real tricky one. If Newcastle go into that
02:34end of the season needing wins, tie their Champions League qualification, Euro qualification,
02:39maybe more, maybe less, who knows. They're going to end the season with Brighton away
02:42on the first weekend of May, which is a tough game. They've got Chelsea at home and then
02:47Arsenal away all the play before that last game against Everton, so Brighton, Chelsea,
02:51Arsenal and Everton in May. It's a tricky run of games that for Newcastle but one they'll
02:57fancy their chances in. Anyhow, side will always fancy a chance against anyone they
03:02play, so that'll be a run of games they'll be looking to tackle. Some other big ones
03:06to pick out, Man City, defending champions, Newcastle play them at home in the final weekend
03:12of September, so that's one to keep an eye on. Liverpool, they play Liverpool at home
03:17on the 4th of December. That's a midweek game, so that'll be under the lights. That's
03:23St James' Park again, I'm sure that'll be one that is picked up on TV and one that'll
03:28be given the big advert because that'll be a really good occasion, really good match.
03:35They play Manchester United away three days after Aston Villa on Boxing Day, so they host
03:40Aston Villa on Boxing Day and then a few days after that, the game between Christmas and
03:44That'll be Man U away, so that's a big game, we all know what happens. A bit of a needle
03:50between Newcastle and Man U over the last couple of years and especially the way last
03:53season ended with Man U winning the FA Cup and Newcastle missing out on Europe, so that's
03:56a big one to keep an eye out for. The games don't get much easier because a few days after
04:00that they play Tottenham away, so in that Christmas period, which again, fans would
04:05love that sort of period. Newcastle don't have too many home games, starting with Ipswich
04:09on the 21st of that weekend, again, all TV. They've got Ipswich away that game four days
04:14before Christmas, similar stuff to where they had Luton last year, then they've got
04:17Villa, as mentioned, on Boxing Day, then Manchester United away after that and then the first
04:21game in the new year will be against Tottenham away. So that's a tricky run of games, so
04:26you've sort of got a decently started thing, you've got to be confident with the start
04:29with Southampton born with Tottenham, Fulham and Wolves, all that play in their first five.
04:34They'll be confident in doing well then and then we'll talk about the end of the season
04:38where they've got Brighton, Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, tough end of the season, again that
04:41Christmas period as well with Ipswich, Villa, Man U and Tottenham there. It's another crucial
04:45part of the season. Of course there's no easy games in the Premier League, but their games
04:50and their periods of the season are the ones that are really going to test them. If they
04:54can have some good results in those games, I think they'll fancy themselves to have a
04:58good season. I think the headlines are, as mentioned, Southampton at home, or the three
05:03home games being the first game at home, Boxing Day and the final game of the season, all
05:08at home, Southampton, Villa and Everton respectively. Midweek trips, as a host of Liverpool midweek,
05:15they've got ones against Manchester United around Christmas, Tottenham around Christmas.
05:21It's a fixture list which is difficult in parts, as it always is, but I think Newcastle,
05:25especially at the beginning of the season last year where they had some very tough games,
05:27I think they'll fancy the chance to get off to a good start next year. If they get off
05:32to a good start, who knows what can happen, but that's the way the fixtures have gone
05:36this year. Even though it's only June, Euros are just one week in, I think a lot of people
05:42are already getting excited for the new season. Of course, the best way to stay up to date
05:45with all the latest Newcastle United transfer news and everything throughout the summer
05:49is of course with the Shields Gazette.