Official 2024-25 Premier League announcement highlights Newcastle United challenge after Leeds United blow
Newcastle United will have to travel far and wide in the Premier League this coming season.
The Magpies are now the only club north of Manchester in the Premier League following Burnley’s relegation to the Championship and Leeds’ failure to win promotion via the play-offs. Newcastle’s closest Premier League match is Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, 141 miles away.
The distance between Newcastle and their Premier League rivals was highlighted in a graphic posted by the league’s official social media accounts. It shows the locations of every Premier League club with Newcastle isolated in the North East of England.
The Magpies and closest rivals Sunderland haven’t played in the same division since the 2015-16 Premier League season while they haven’t faced Middlesbrough since the 2009-10 Championship campaign.
The Premier League’s post has led to fans responding on social media naming Newcastle: “The club of the North.”
And when you see the image, it’s hard to argue otherwise.
Newcastle aside, the North East of England has been starved of top-flight football in recent seasons with Sunderland and Middlesbrough missing out via the play-offs in 2022-23. Even teams further adrift such as Leeds, Huddersfield Town, Hull City and Sheffield United have only had fleeting stays in the Premier League once promoted.
As usual, Newcastle will have the furthest distance to travel of any Premier League side over the course of the 2024-25 campaign. While the 282-mile round trip to Manchester City is The Magpies’ closest trip, the 720-mile round trip to AFC Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium is the furthest any side will have to travel this coming season.
The closest distance between two clubs is Liverpool and Everton, with less than a mile separating Anfield and Goodison Park.