Newcastle United round off their preseason campaign with a double-header against Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao this weekend.
Having pushed a Champions League side in Benfica all the way earlier this week, Eddie Howe will again pit his team against a club with much in the way of top-level European experience when the Italians travel to St James’ Park on Friday.
Strangely enough, there is a connection between the two clubs. Aside from Newcastle and Atalanta, no team has lost their first three Champions League group stages and qualified for the next round.
Still, that was the past and Howe has a big season ahead. Having finished last year so well, optimism is high heading into the new campaign and the two games this weekend will provide a real test before the Premier League season opener at home to Nottingham Forest next weekend.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Atalanta game.
Date, kick-off time and venue
The preseason friendly is scheduled for a 7.45pm BST kick-off time on Friday July 29, 2022.
St James’ Park will host.
Where to watch Newcastle vs Atalanta
As it stands, there is no confirmation as to whether or not the game will be broadcast on NUFC TV.
Newcastle vs Atalanta team news
Howe is expected to split his team selection across the games, given their close proximity.
Still, Jonjo Shelvey picked up a hamstring injury in Lisbon, while Javier Manquillo, Martin Dubravka, Federico Fernandez and Jamal Lewis are all carrying knocks.
Youngster Matthew Bondswell was talked up by Kieran Trippier, so it’ll be interesting to see how much a role he plays in the two games.
Joelinton is suspended following his red card against Benfica.
Duvan Zapata, who was strongly linked with Newcastle in January, could start for the away side and the same goes for defender Merih Demiral.
Newcastle vs Atalanta prediction
Clearly, results are not too important at this stage but Newcastle looked to have taken a step-up in performance against Benfica.
Atalanta have not played outside of the Italian lower tiers this summer, so are slightly behind Howe’s side. For that reason, it seems fair to expect a home win.
Newcastle vs Atalanta head to head (h2h) history and results
The two have never met in a competitive sense.