Newcastle United official announcement – Sixth pre-season friendly | OneFootball

Newcastle United have now announced a second St James’ Park friendly, the sixth friendly in total ahead of the 2025/26 season.

United to play at home against RCD Espanyol on Friday 8 August with a 7.30pm kick-off.

This announcement coming after the Atletico Madrid match became sold out earlier in the week.

That Atletico match is of course to be played on Saturday 9 August with a 4pm kick-off, less than 24 hours after this newly announced Espanyol game.

Some Newcastle United fans will be left disappointed, that after assuming the Atletico Madrid match was going to be the only home friendly and the full NUFC first team playing, instead Eddie Howe will be splitting his team/squad across the two SJP matches on consecutive days.

This is what has normally happened in the past but the two games have always been announced at the same time, so fans know the score, that it won’t be a full first choice eleven they are seeing.

As for the fans who bought tickets later on for the Atletico Madrid friendly, the only option was up in level 7 as it was sold section by section, ending up finally with the worst seats, where the away fans are usually situated.

I think for sure plenty of those fans buying those final level 7 tickets for the Saturday friendly, would definitely have waited an bought prime seats for this Espanyol match instead, if they had known about it…

Tickets for this Espanyol match are £20 for adults, a fiver cheaper than the Atletico Madrid game, though concessions are the same, £10 for each of the home friendlies.

Great to see a full house for the Atletico Madrid match but it will be interesting to see how sales go for this newly announced additional St James’ Park kickabout.

Newcastle United official announcement – 20 June 2025:

‘We’re excited to announce that we’ll be welcoming La Liga side RCD Espanyol to St. James’ Park on Friday, 8th August for our first pre-season fixture on home soil.

As we prepare for the demands of both domestic and Champions League football, it’s vital that we get the full squad up to speed. That’s why we’ve added this extra friendly – we want Eddie Howe’s team fighting fit for our opening Premier League clash against Aston Villa, before we host last season’s champions Liverpool at St. James’ Park the following weekend.

This additional fixture also gives more fans the chance to see the team in action before the 2025/26 season kicks off.

Espanyol, who are celebrating their 125th anniversary, will be another fitting opponent as we continue our preparations for a much-anticipated return to European football.

The Friday night match sets the tone for a brilliant weekend of football, with both our men’s and women’s teams facing Atlético Madrid in the Sela Cup the following day.

Kick-off against Espanyol is at 7:30pm (BST) on Friday, 8th August, and tickets start at just £20 for adults and £10 for concessions.

We can’t wait to see you back at St. James’ Park as we gear up for another unforgettable season.

TICKETS ON GENERAL SALE FROM 24th JUNE

Hospitality packages in Club St. James’ – including Directors Box seating, hospitality suite access, a two-course pre-match meal and matchday programme – are available from £150+VATpp. Call to book from 10am on Tuesday, 24th June: 0191 201 8444.

Our pre-season journey kicks off with a trip to face Celtic in Glasgow on 19th July, before heading to Asia on an international tour.

The team will take on Arsenal in the Singapore Festival of Football on 27th July, followed by two fixtures in South Korea – Team K League on 30th July and Tottenham Hotspur on 3rd August – as part of the 2025 Coupang Play Series.

St. James’ Park will welcome the squad home for the clash against Espanyol on 8th August, setting the scene for the Sela Cup the following day, where our men’s and women’s teams will face counterparts from Atlético Madrid in a thrilling double header.