Newly promoted Norwich City are the visitors and take on a Magpies side who have had yet another underwhelming summer.
No signings have been made and the results in pre-season have hardly been eye-catching with Steve Bruce’s men losing to National League North outfit York City, before scraping past League One Doncaster Rovers.
They were also held by Rotherham United, and only beat Burton Albion 2-0.
A behind closed doors friendly with Burnley also took place this week, with Newcastle going onto lose 1-0 in that one.
Pre-season isn’t the be all and end all, however these results will hardly have Newcastle fans excited for the 2021/22 campaign.
Newcastle United team news
Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow has only just returned to training after having Covid-19 so it is expected that he will miss out once again, leaving Mark Gillespie and Freddie Woodman another chance to impress their manager with number one Martin Dubravka set to miss the start of the season for a second year running, this time with a foot injury.
Full-back Javier Manquillo has also recently returned to training and is in contention to feature against The Canaries.
There is also a chance that Jonjo Shelvey could play a key role in the opening weeks of the season having played 30 minutes in the midweek clash at Turf Moor. Miguel Almiron is also back from the Copa America which is also a positive for The Magpies.
There is still no sign of Allan Saint-Maximin, with last season’s top scorer Callum Wilson also worryingly missing with a week to go until United’s opener with West Ham United.
Norwich City team news
Centre-back Grant Hanley will miss out against his former side with a hamstring injury. The defender was promoted back to the Premier League with the Magpies in 2017 under Rafa Benitez.
Fellow defender Sam Byram is also ruled out with a thigh injury, as is Dimitris Giannoulis who has a hamstring strain.
There will also be no inclusion for former Middlesbrough captain Ben Gibson who is out with an ankle injury.
In midfield, the Canaries will be missing Kenny McLean due to a knee issue picked up in the recent 5-0 win over Gillingham. He could be back in contention for the opening weekend of the new league season however when Norwich face Liverpool.
The previous meeting
Newcastle failed to beat Norwich in the 2019/20 season with the last meeting between the two sides ending in a 0-0 draw at St James’ Park.
The meeting earlier in the season saw Norwich comfortably win 3-1 at Carrow Road in Bruce’s second match in charge of The Magpies.
Norwich did go on to get relegated and return to the Championship.
Predicted line-ups
Newcastle United: Woodman, Murphy, Schär, Lascelles, Fernandez, Ritchie, Shelvey, Hayden, Hendrick, Fraser, Joelinton.
Norwich City: Krul, Aarons, Omobamidele, Zimmermann, Sorensen, Rupp, Gilmour, Lees-Melou, Cantwell, Dowell, Pukki.
Ones to watch
Ryan Fraser: Fraser has yet to really shine for Newcastle, albeit due to multiple injuries throughout the season. He has shown bright moments in pre-season, especially in the win at Doncaster and he will be hoping to do so again back at St James' Park.
Todd Cantwell: Norwich did well to keep hold of their exciting forward player when they were relegated in 2019 with a number of clubs believed to be enquiring about him. Now back in the Premier League with his boyhood club, he will be hoping to show what all of the fuss was about in the top flight once more. He was one of the standout performers as the Canaries won the Championship last season.
The match details
Kick-off at St James’ Park is at 2pm with tickets on sale directly from the club’s website or box office.
There is will be no live stream of the game due to the UEFA blackout rule returning with the majority of their nations allowing supporters back into grounds, however it is expected that BBC Radio Newcastle and NUFC TV will provide commentary of proceedings on Tyneside.