Newcastle United confirm two friendlies at St James's Park one week before 2022-23 Premier League start

As reported by The Gazette earlier this week, The Magpies will host Serie A side Atalanta BC at St James’s Park on Friday, July 29 (7:45pm kick-off) before facing La Liga outfit Athletic Bilbao the following day (kick-off TBC).

It is likely that Eddie Howe will name two different sides for the two matches given the quick turnaround.

The matches take place the week before the start of the 2022-23 Premier League season on August 6.

Newcastle’s pre-season plans suffered a major blow earlier this month as their United States ‘Ohio Cup’ tour was cancelled. The friendly competition was set to take place Cincinnati and Columbus in July with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Villarreal and Valencia also taking part.

In addition to the two friendly matches that have now been confirmed, Newcastle are still hoping to organise a pre-season tour of matches earlier in July.

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