NEWCASTLE UNITED
Premier League, St James’ Park, Monday 25 November 2024, 8pm GMT
Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football will come from St James’ Park, when West Ham United visit Newcastle United for a big Premier League game under the lights.
Two teams who will hope to improve on their current league positions and challenge for European qualification come the season’s end will clash on Tyneside.
Newcastle away is a fixture West Ham supporters look forward to every season but, with the match being moved to Monday evening for live broadcast in the UK and across the world, the prospect of a weekend away sadly disappeared – unless you want to extend it!
The Magpies enjoyed a superb 2022/23 season, finishing fourth in the Premier League to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, then subsequently welcoming AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain to St James’ Park last term.
Eddie Howe’s side finished seventh last season, narrowly missing out on European qualification after Manchester United won the FA Cup, and a relatively slow start to this campaign means they face an uphill task to break into the top six, even at this early stage.
How to get there…
With no unreserved car parking on matchdays and traffic restrictions galore, Newcastle United ‘strongly recommend’ that supporters use public transport to reach St James’ Park.
If you do opt to drive to the North East, the Magpies operate Park and Ride from two sites close to the A1 motorway – one at Newcastle Great Park (near Newcastle Racecourse) and the other at the Metrocentre in Gateshead.
It’s probably more relaxing to let the train take the strain, with East Coast Mainline services from London Kings Cross stopping at Newcastle Central, just a signposted ten-minute walk from the stadium. Alternatively, you can take a taxi. Book your train tickets at lner.co.uk.
If you prefer, you can take a coach. National Express will deliver you to Newcastle Coach Station on St James’ Boulevard, while Megabus operates from outside Newcastle Central railway station.
Where to stay…
As a regional hub for the North East and a major tourist destination, Newcastle upon Tyne has literally hundreds of options ranging from two to five-star hotels to traditional bed and breakfasts to hostels.
You could opt to stay in or near the city centre or, if you wanted something different, you could stay in the seaside resort of Whitley Bay a few miles to the north, or in the historic Cathedral city of Durham, 20 miles to the south and one stop away on the train.
What to do…
Arguably, St James’ Park is Newcastle’s No1 tourist attraction and is open for stadium tours!
However, since you’ll be visiting St James’ Park for the match, you will probably want to do something else to fill your free time.
In addition to the hundreds of restaurants and bars, including the Chinatown area directly south of the stadium, Newcastle’s major landmarks are worth a visit, including the Quayside on the north bank of the River Tyne, the iconic Tyne Bridge and Newcastle Castle.
What’s happened there before…
We’ve had mixed results at St James’ Park since returning to the Premier League 12 years ago, winning there in 2012/13, 2018/19 and 2021/22, drawing three times and losing on five occasions.
Our 3-0 win at Newcastle United in December 2018, with Chicharito (two) and Felipe Anderson sharing the goals, equalled our most emphatic victory on Tyneside, matching the Premier League win in October 1998 and Second Division success in August 1978.
On the opening day of 2021/22, in St James’ Park’s first match with a full crowd following the COVID pandemic, we roared back from a goal down twice to win 4-2, with Aaron Cresswell, Saïd Benrahma, Tomáš Souček and Michail Antonio getting the goals.
After coming from behind again to secure a 1-1 draw in 2022/23, when Lucas Paquetá found the net, we collapsed to a 4-3 defeat in late March last season, despite leading 3-1 with less than 15 minutes to play.
