Newcastle United 2017/18 Premier League fixtures released

It has all come full circle for Newcastle United as the Premier League fixture were delivered, giving the Magpies the honour of kicking off their season at St James' Park.

After Rafa Benitez had a successful first full season with the club, football fans across the country are eager to see what the Toon Army have to offer the top flight.

First home and away games are symbolic

August 12 will see Tottenham Hotspur return to St James' Park for the opening of the Premier League. On paper, this is a difficult opening match for Newcastle as Spurs finished second in the league boasting invincible spells throughout the season.

However, the last ever match the Toon played in the Premier League was this exact fixture - which ended in an already relegated Newcastle hammering five goals home to win 5-1. In the same season, Newcastle were the only team to beat Tottenham both home and away. This memory can only serve as a positive for Benitez and the players, with the occasion allowing a potential for points.

While the first home game will be almost nostalgic for some of the players, their first away trip will be more a recent memory as they take on Huddersfield Town who grabbed the final promotion spot on August 19.

There is no derby for Newcastle this year, as Sunderland and Middlesbrough were both relegated to the Championship, this meeting between to northern clubs is the closest thing.

In the second division last season, the Magpies struggled against Huddersfield at home but flourished in the away home by comprehensively beating them 3-1. Given the projected strengthening of the squad, Newcastle will be looking to take all three points.

Managerial clashes to look out for

September 30: Rafa Benitez will host his former club Liverpool and their current manager Jurgen Klopp. Benitez has expressed his respect for the former Borussia Dortmund manager while wishing Newcastle and Liverpool will meet again. The Reds have looked stronger in the past season, they are a club that Newcastle have been able to tease points from in the past.

November 18: The Magpies will make the trip down to Manchester United in November on the back of winnable games against Burnley (A) and Crystal Palace (H) which could give them the momentum needed to face United - who will no doubt add big names to their squad. Neither team will be looking for a draw, especially seeing as there is a rivalry between former Chelsea managers Jose Mourinho and Benitez.

December 2: The first meeting between the Champions of the top flight and the second division comes in the cold month of December. Antonio Conte's Chelsea will be making the journey up north. This is a match up that Newcastle will certainly struggle with, and have struggled with in the past.

December 26: Boxing day provides a fine clash of two well respected managers as Manchester City travel to Tyneside. Although Pep Guardiola did not hit the ground running in his first season, it is likely that with adjustments that City will be more threatening. Boxing day marks almost half way through the season, which could be to the benefit of either team.

Generous scheduling could favour Mags

Quickly looking through the series of matches that the Toon are set to play reveals there are not many clusters of 'big games' as they are often filtered by fixtures that Benitez will be looking to capitalise on, instead of having top clubs back to back.

For instance, in between the time that Newcastle host Manchester City at home (December 26) and then travel to the Etihad (January 20), the Toon Army face Brighton & Hove Albion, Stoke City and Swansea City. This pattern is repeated throughout the fixtures, which means that there are more opportunities for Newcastle to potentially damage control if they are to face 5-0 drubbings from the top four or six teams.

However, this could only benefit the club if they have the correct attitude. In the 2015/16 season that saw the Magpies relegated, they managed to hold 'bigger' clubs or snatch surprise three points but lost in areas that they were expected to win in - this was also behaviour seen in the Championship.

The most difficult spell the club could face comes in the harsher climates of December as they face Chelsea, Leicester City, Everton, Arsenal, West Ham, Manchester City and Brighton - including back to back away games. However, during their retreat to the Championship, Newcastle improved on their resolve away from home which could yield dividends in this jam packed period.