Chris Wood’s first-half penalty was enough to secure the victory on Friday night as Elliot Anderson and Ryan Fraser impressed for Eddie Howe’s side.
With back-to-back friendlies less than 24 hours apart, Howe has named a fully rotated side for the visit of Ernesto Valverde’s side, giving an opportunity for new signing Sven Botman to impress in-front of a home crowd for the first time since joining the club from Lille.
In his programme notes ahead of the clash, Howe said: “Whilst the results of these games are perhaps secondary to what we can learn and achieve from a fitness point of view, winning is always a good habit and back in front of our fans this weekend, we will deliver just that.”
Here is the Newcastle United starting XI that will take to the field to face Athletic Bilbao at St James’s Park:
9. RW: Matt Ritchie
Ritchie has been entrusted to start on the wing against Athletic Bilbao today. Photo: Marc Atkins
10. ST: Callum Wilson
Fans will be delighted to see WIlson back fit and with a full pre-season schedule behind him, hopefully he can use today's game as a platform to hit the ground running against Nottingham Forest. Photo: OLI SCARFF
11. LW: Allan Saint-Maximin
After Ryan Fraser impressed against Atalanta, Saint-Maximin will want to show what he can do against Bilbao. Photo: Gualter Fatia