VAR: Andy Madley

UK TV: none

WonderBar in The Gate opens at 10am, with DJ Mad Mick on stage from 11.30am for his pre-match show. 

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Overseas TV:
Arena Sport 1 Slovenia
Arena Sport 4 HD Serbia
Arena Sport 5 HD Bosnia
Arena Sport 7 HD Croatia
Astro Go/SuperSport 3 (Malaysia)
AZ Sport 7 (Azerbaijan)
beIN Connect MENA/MENA HD/MENA 2 HD/Turkey HD
Canal+ Sport Action (Cz/Slo)
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DAZN Eleven 3 Portugal HD
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Peacock Premium (USA)
Prima Sport PPV/Sport 2/Play (Romania)
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sooka (Malaysia)
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Zapping (Brazil)

UK Radio: Live on talkSPORT 2

Local Radio: Live on BBC Radio Newcastle

Hospital Radio: Radio Tyneside commentary is accessible free of charge in local hospitals via Spark Media.

Buses: The Go North East X50 football service from the Metro Centre will be in operation. Details here

Roads: The Tyne Bridge refurbishment programme is underway and expected to take four years to complete. 

One lane in each direction will remain closed at all times until further notice, leading to inevitable congestion and delays. More details

Temporary road closures around the SJP will be in place from an hour before kick-off until 30 minutes after the final whistle.

Metro: No scheduled closures or alterations

Foodbank: The usual stall and bucket shakers will be on Strawberry Place. NUFC Jamie Reuben will once again double all cash donations made on matchday.

Stats: 

Following a 8-0 win at Bramall Lane in the first meeting of the two sides, Newcastle are bidding to wrap up their third win double of the season after taking six points off both Aston Villa and Fulham.

Blades in Toon - last 10:

2020/21 won 1-0 Willock
2019/20 won 3-0 Saint-Maximin, Ritchie, Joelinton
2009/10 won 2-1 Lovenkrands, Nolan
2006/07 lost 0-1
1999/00 won 4-1 Shearer, Dabizas, Ferguson, Gallacher (FAC)
1993/94 won 4-0 Beardsley 2, OG, Cole
1989/90 won 2-0 Gallacher, Quinn
1988/89 won 2-0 Hendrie, Mirandinha (LC)
1985/86 drew 1-1 Cunningham (FR)
1978/79 lost 1-3 Shoulder

Full record v Sheffield United:



Newcastle go looking for their 50th victory over the Blades in all competitions and are seven away from the double century of goals. We wouldn't normally mention that but given the result at Bramall Lane....

Latest PL fixtures: 

Sat 27.04.2024:
West Ham v Liverpool (12.30pm) TNT
Fulham v Crystal Palace (3pm)
Manchester United v Burnley (3pm)
Newcastle v Sheffield United (3pm)
Wolves v Luton Town (3pm)
Everton v Brentford (5.30pm) Sky
Aston Villa v Chelsea (8pm) TNT

Sun 28.04.2024:
Bournemouth v Brighton & Hove Albion (2pm)
Spurs v Arsenal (2pm) Sky
Nottingham Forest v Manchester City (4.30pm) Sky

The O'Brien can be ordered online here and is part of the NUFC.com reader offer where a full price purchase of any NUFC hat gets a free Mirandinha bobble hat.

Use promo code DOTCOM at checkout.  

We have one to give away in our latest free-to-enter competition. To enter, please email your answer to the question below to [email protected] subject Hats:

A team mate of Liam O'Brien's throughout his time at Gallowgate and in his final Magpies XI. Name him. 

Closing date is 10am on Friday May 3rd. No age limit, open to anyone on the planet but delivery must be to a UK address. One entry each please per person.

Premier League:
Foxes return

A 0-4 defeat for Leeds United at QPR on Friday night confirmed a return to the Premier League at the first attempt for Leicester City.

As a consequence, Enzo Maresca's Foxes are assured of a top two finish in the automatic promotion places with two games still to play.

U18s:
Academy updates

News of two changes to the U18 side's remaining fixtures as follows:

Everton (a) was Sat 27.04.2024, now 
Sat 18.05.2024. 12.30pm KO, Finch Farm.

Boro (a) was Wed 08.05.2024, now 
Tue 07.05.2024. 6pm KO, Riverside Stadium.

PL2:
Stiffs in Staffs success

Stoke City U21s  1  Newcastle U21s  2

Two early goals gave Newcastle U21s victory in their penultimate PL2 game of the season on Friday night - aided by two red cards for the home side.

The Magpies made a rapid start at the Bet365 Stadium, taking a tenth minute lead through Dylan Stephenson on his return to the side following the end of his loan spell at South Shields.

1-0 then became 2-0 within two minutes thanks to Kyle Crossley, before the visitors were forced into a change when Lucas De Bolle replaced the ailing Jamie Miley. 

City reduced the arrears on 28 minutes when Jack Griffiths beat Aidan Harris from close range, but ended the half a man short after goalkeeper Tommy Simkin saw red for a challenge on Stephenson outside the box.

Ten men then became nine for Stoke midway through the second period; Jaden Dixon dismissed in the aftermath of a tussle with Stephenson.

Team: Harris, Shahar, Charlton, C.Thompson, Heffernan, J.Miley (De Bolle 21), Crossley, Stanton (McArthur 75), Stephenson, Al.Harrison, Diallo. Subs n/u: Brown, Hackett, Turner-Cooke.

The original published Newcastle line-up included Jay Turner-Cooke, but he was replaced by Kyle Crossley before kick-off.

Booked: Stanton 

SCFC: Simkin, Mears, Anderson, Dixon, Bickerton, Smith, Lipsuic (Garside-Kelly 80), Griffiths, Jeffers (Grogan 70), Jojic (Morris 45+1), McGuinness. Subs n/u: Fearn, Gyimah.

Booked: Mears

Dismissed: Simkin, Dixon

Referee: Aaron Jackson

Crowd: tbc

Ben Dawson's side conclude their PL2 campaign against Aston Villa at Gallowgate on Monday evening (7pm).

Spectators will be accommodated in the East Stand and admission is free for season ticket holders or else via cash turnstiles (£3 adults, £1 concessions).

Theatre dates:
Booking for Bella

Following a successful tour of the region two years ago, Wor Bella returns to the stage in Newcastle this weekend.

Playwright Ed Waugh's work about the prolific female footballer Bella Reay is at the Theatre Royal on Saturday (2.30pm and 7.30pm) and Sunday (2.30pm)

More details/bookings online here

Ed's play centres on Bella's starring role for Blyth Spartans Ladies in the 1918 Munitionettes Cup final, played before an aggregate crowd of 22,000 fans at Gallowgate and Ayresome Park. 

Update:
Bruno update

Speaking on Friday, Eddie Howe confirmed recent media claims of a limited duration release clause for Bruno Guimaraes in his latest contract  - reportedly a fee £100m payable in full by the end of June:

"Having that was well planned and structured by the club, in a sense that there’s a sort of finish point.

"We don’t want constant speculation, it’s not healthy for the player or for us. It goes without saying we want to keep him, I want to build our team around him.

"His form has been very good — he seems very happy and settled. He’ll be thinking about a very busy summer ahead, where hopefully we can take the team with him a big part of it. But we aren’t in control of that so let’s see.”

2024/25:
Japan tour claim

The Chronicle report that Newcastle have been given the opportunity to play two pre-season games in Japan against J-League sides in July.

They name the possible opponents as Yokohama F Marinos and Urawa Red Diamonds, with a date for the latter opponent listed as July 31st. 

No official confirmation of either game has been received as yet, with Urawa fan sites also mentioning the possible Magpies meeting in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, United's post-season opponents Spurs have announced a kickabout against J-League side Vissel Kobe in Tokyo on July 27th. Kobe's current squad includes former Magpie Yoshinori Muto. 

Our first visit to Japan followed the 1982/83 season, playing four games in three cities - Toyko, Okayama and Nagoya - en route to lifting the Japan Cup.

And thanks to Japanese Mag Simon Moran for reminding us of a more recent game we played in Japan, losing 1-3 to Gamba Osaka in August 1996.  

Update:
Gillespie retained

The Mail newspaper reported on Friday that Newcastle have exercised an option to extend the contract of goalkeeper Mark Gillespie for a further 12 months.

The 32 year-old Tynesider signed a three year deal when arriving at Gallowgate from Motherwell in 2020 and agreed a one season extension last summer. 

Selected on the bench by Eddie Howe at various times during his managerial reign, Gillespie's only competitive appearances for United remain a trio of Carabao Cup starts under Steve Bruce during September 2020.

2023/24:
Too Eze for Eagles

Crystal Palace  2  Newcastle  0

Match action

Match report

Latest PL results:

Tue 23.04.2024:
Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea

Wed 24.04.2024:
Wolves 0-1 Bournemouth
Crystal Palace 2-0 Newcastle
Everton 2-0 Liverpool
Manchester United 4-2 Sheffield United

Thu 25.04.2024:
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-4 Manchester City

Giveaway:
Prediction winner

Thanks to those who entered our match score prediction competition for Palace (a) to win Toon-inspired golf club head covers from Crun Sports.

Nobody correctly guessed the result meaning that all entrants were included in the prize draw. From that, Michael Russell was selected as our winner. 

Latest:
Ashworth update

Two months after he was placed on gardening leave by Newcastle United, The Athletic report that Sporting Director Dan Ashworth is seeking arbitration to secure his move to Manchester United.

They claim that Ashworth's case is set to begin in May and last several weeks. No further details were given.   

2024/25:
Season tickets etc.

For those who haven't already done so as part of the long-term deals, season ticket renewals can now be made online here until 5pm on Monday May 20th.

Meanwhile, home cup ticket schemes for the FA Cup and Carabao Cup are also open now, with a closing date of 5pm on Friday June 21st. Remember that separate sign-ups are required for both.

Depending on our finishing place in the PL, a further home cup ticket scheme for European competition may become available.

Cup ticket prices are unchanged from 2023/24:

Carabao Cup: £20 & £25 adults / £10 & £15 others

FA Cup: £30 & £35 adults / £15 & £20 others

This season's ticket price increase was repeated for next season, raising adult prices by 5% and freezing junior prices. Full announcement online here

PS: The Magpie Mover matchday public transport ticket will again be available to 2024/25 season ticket holders at an unchanged price of £25. NB: sales of this don't look to have commenced yet. 

1 v 1:
Wor Gordon in the Bay 

The next guest on Sky's Overlap show is Newcastle's Anthony Gordon, interviewed by Gary Neville on and around the promenade at Whitley Bay.

There's plenty to take from a revealing 45 minutes, not least his preference to play as a left winger.

Watch it for free online here

Update:
More train strikes 

Further industrial action has been announced next month by the ASLEF union - although no Newcastle games are directly affected this time round.

A rolling series of one day strikes will see drivers walk out for 24 hours as follows. A separate overtime ban will run from Mon 06.05.2024 until Sat 11.05.2024:

Tue 07.05.2024: c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway.

Wed 08.05.2024: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains.

Thu 09.05.2024: LNER, Northern, TransPennine.

2024/25:
Europe: latest 

Assuming that the Premier League misses out on an additional fifth Champions League place available due to restructuring of the competition next season, qualification for Europe in 2024/25 looks like this, as much as we're able to discern:

There are seven guaranteed European spots; four in the Champions League, two in the Europa League and one in the Conference League. 

Those were originally allocated as follows:

PL 1st-4th in Champions League
PL 5th in Europa League
FA Cup winners in Europa League
Carabao Cup winners in Conference League

Liverpool currently have the Conference League place as Carabao Cup winners, but will take a Champions League place if they finish in the Premier League top four, which looks almost guaranteed.

That frees up the Conference League place to the team finishing sixth in the Premier League.

The FA Cup winners take a Europa League place - unless they have earned a Champions League place by virtue of a top four Premier League finish.

If Manchester City win the FA Cup and finish in the top four of the Premier League, they will enter the Champions League. 

The sixth place finishers would go into the Europa League spot reserved for Manchester City, with the Conference League spot occupied by the team finishing seventh. 

If Manchester United win the FA Cup, they'll take a Europa League place unless they finish in the top four and collect a Champions League slot. 

Should they finish in the Conference League position, they would take the Europa League spot resulting from a Wembley success instead.

If Manchester United finished eighth and therefore only qualified for Europe by winning the FA Cup, the team in seventh spot wouldn't gain entry to any European competition. 

Aston Villa have qualified for the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League (known as the UEFA Conference League next season). 

If they won that competition, they would occupy an additional spot in the Europa League reserved for the Conference winners only - regardless of nationality. 

Should Villa snag a Champions League or Europa League spot via their Premier League finishing spot though, the Europa League place reserved for them as Conference League winners would not be reallocated to another Premier League team. 

Premier League Euro qualification guide

Sky Sport Euro qualification guide

Update:
London calling....

It's coming up to 60 years since the Newcastle United London Supporters Club was established, members following the lads home and away since since 1964.

Preparations to mark the anniversary with an event later this year are underway; any founder members and their families who aren't currently in contact with the club are now invited to get in touch.

To do so, please email [email protected] 

PS: We'll publicise the NUSCL event in due course, with all current and former members welcome to attend.

Loan lads:
The borrowers 

Yankuba Minteh (Feyenoord):
Minteh was in the starting line-up for Thursday's 3-1 Eredivisie win over Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer. Minteh contributed one assist in his 73 minute shift. Victory confirmed Champions League qualification next season for Feyenoord.

Isaac Hayden (QPR):
An emphatic 4-0 home win over Leeds United on Friday secured Championship survival for the R's. Hayden came off the bench as an 81st minute replacement when his side were 3-0 ahead.

Rodrigo Vilca (Vozdovac):
The Peruvian midfielder was introduced as an 83rd minute substitute at home to Spartak Sobotica in the Serbian Super Liga on Friday. However he was unable to prevent the game finishing goalless.

Jeff Hendrick (Sheffield Wednesday):
West Bromwich Albion (h) Championship, Saturday.

Ryan Fraser (Southampton): 
Stoke City (h) Championship, Saturday.

Jamal Lewis (Watford):
mackems (h) Championship, Saturday.

Harrison Ashby (Swansea City):
Norwich City (a) Championship, Saturday.

Kelland Watts (Wigan Athletic): 
Bristol Rovers (h) League One, Saturday.

Matty Bondswell (Newport County):
Bradford City (a) League Two, Saturday.

Michael Ndiweni (Annan Athletic):
Falkirk (h) Scottish League One, Saturday.

Garang Kuol (Volendam):
Sparta Rotterdam (a) Eredivisie, Sunday.

Fundraiser:
Saddling up for charity  

Father and son duo Steve and Paul McDougal are currently engaged on a charity cycle trek to Istanbul - proudly clad in their black and white shirts.    

The Geordie pair have now reached Germany on their Toon2Turkey Bike Ride, which is attempting to raise funds for men's health charity, Movember.

Keep track of their progress online here and if you're able to, please donate to the charity online here. 

Movember are working to address some of the biggest health issues faced by men: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention.