Sunderland, Middlesbrough and more: Newcastle United’s potential Premier League opponents for next season

It seems almost unbelievable to think it is just over 12 months since Newcastle United had been putting the finishing touches to a successful battle against relegation into the Championship.

Now, thoughts are not of life in the second tier, but of potential Champions League trips to the likes of Barcelona, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain after Eddie Howe oversaw a dramatic turnaround in fortunes at St James Park. But Magpies supporters will still have kept on eye on the Championship this season as they prepare to welcome three promoted clubs to Tyneside when the new season gets underway in August.

Two clubs have already confirmed their return to English football’s elite next season and two more have secured play-off spots, with the battle for the remain top six places set to go into a dramatic final day of the campaign next week. As the likes of Southampton, Everton, Leicester City and Leeds United battle to avoid the drop into the Championship, NewcastleWorld looks at who could be heading into the opposite direction.

Familiar faces already promoted

Burnley claimed the Championship title last week when a Manuel Benson goal gave them a narrow win at old rivals Blackburn Rovers and ensured Vincent Kompany’s side would return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Coincidentally, Newcastle provided the opposition for Burnley’s last game as a Premier League club as Callum Wilson scored twice against current Magpies keeper Nick Pope to give Eddie Howe a 2-1 win over his former club on the final day of last season. United have a mixed record at Turf Moor in the Premier League, with three wins, two defeats and a solitary draw against the Clarets on their home patch.

There are no former United players in the Burnley squad that secured the title but ex-Magpies striker Craig Bellamy is Kompany’s assistant manager after performing a similar role at Anderlecht.

The Clarets will be joined in the Premier League by Sheffield United after they sewed up the runners-up spot with a 2-0 home win against West Bromwich Albion last week. The Blades count current Magpies defender Ciaran Clark in their squad after he joined them on a season-long loan in July. That deal could be converted into a permanent move this summer when Clark’s current deal at St James Park comes to an end.

The Magpies last visited Bramall Lane in January 2021 when a Steve Bruce-led Newcastle crashed to a 1-0 defeat, giving the Blades their first win of the season at the seventeenth attempt!

Confirmed in the play-offs

Two clubs have already secured a second chance to claim promotion into the top flight. Luton Town’s remarkable progression has been sustained with a third place finish and Middlesbrough’s hopes of ending their six-year stay in the Championship are still alive after they moved clear in fourth place.

The Magpies have not faced Boro in a Premier League fixture since Steven Taylor, Obafemi Martins and Peter Lovenkrands scored in a 3-1 win at St James Park in the final week of the 2008/09 season. Both sides would be relegated from the top tier that season and United took four points from their North East neighbours on the way to winning the Championship during the following campaign.

Newcastle’s last league meeting with Luton came with a goalless draw in January 1993 as Kevin Keegan’s Magpies continued their push for the Division One (now Championship) title. Their last trip to Kenilworth Road came just over a year later as the Hatters inflicted a shock 2-0 FA Cup fourth round replay defeat on United. A last top flight clash came in April 1989 as a goalless meeting at St James Park replicated a similarly turgid after at Luton four months earlier.

Possible play-off qualifiers

Coventry City are favourites to secure fifth place in the Championship as they only need a point from a final day visit to Middlesbrough to end any doubt over their play-off place. However, a slip-up from the Sky Blues could open the door for Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion or Blackburn Rovers to sneak into the top six.

Millwall sit in the fourth and final play-off spot and they host ninth placed Blackburn on Monday afternoon, with the latter managed by former Magpies forward Jon Dahl Tomasson. Sunderland travel to Preston North End knowing a win coupled with defeats for Millwall or Coventry City would see the Black Cats edge into the top five. West Brom are in a similar scenario as they prepare to travel to Swansea City on the final day of the campaign.

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