Archive
Head-To-Head: Magpies V Championship Opposition
Written by Newcastle Utd
There is just one unfamiliar name among the list of teams United will come up against in their bid to return to the top flight
By Tom Easterby - Newcastle United Club Reporter
When the fixtures for the 2016/17 Sky Bet Championship season were announced on Wednesday morning, there was just one unfamiliar name among the list of teams Newcastle United will come up against in their bid to return to the top flight.
Burton Albion, who were promoted from League One behind champions Wigan Athletic at the end of the season just gone, have never faced the Magpies in their 66-year history.
Rafa Benitez's men will face the Brewers at their Pirelli Stadium home on Saturday, 17th December before welcoming Nigel Clough's side to St. James' Park for the first time ever on Wednesday, 5th April.
There are just two other clubs in the division that United have faced less than ten times - Brentford (six games) and Reading (eight games). United have won half of their matches against both those sides.
At the other end of the familiarity scale, Aston Villa - also relegated from the Premier League this year - have played against United a total of 154 times to date, with Newcastle coming out on top on 68 occasions, giving them a win percentage of over 44 per cent.
Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County have also each played over 100 games against United, with Rovers faring best of the trio, having beaten Newcastle 49 times in 126 outings. However, the Magpies have still won over 40 per cent of their clashes against each of those three clubs.
There are also favourable records, too, against the likes of Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, but both Wolverhampton Wanderers - who have won 33 of 82 games against Newcastle - and Fulham - who have won 27 from 62 - have the historical upper hand in terms of victories.
One of the shortest away trips over the course of the campaign will be to Deepdale in Preston on Saturday, 29th October, who have lost 27 games out of 62 against the Magpies, while other relatively straightforward journeys to Huddersfield Town (23 Newcastle wins from 56), Leeds United (36 wins from 86) and Rotherham United (seven wins from 12) have traditionally been fruitful visits for United and their supporters.
Further south, Newcastle have won just under half of their games against Cardiff City, Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers, and just over a third of their clashes with Sir Bobby Robson's former club, Ipswich Town, and Barnsley, the League One play-off final winners, who will be the visitors on the final day of the coming campaign.
Exactly a third of the 24 games between Bristol City and Newcastle United have ended in victory for the latter, while United have won six of the 12 match-ups between them and Brighton and Hove Albion, who are currently managed by Chris Hughton.
In total, Newcastle have played 1,346 games against the clubs that they will once again face this season. Over 42 per cent of those games (566) have been won by United. Only 463 of those matches have been lost - just over 34 per cent.