Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez admits he is looking forward to their Premier League season opener against Tottenham.
The Premier League released the fixture list for the upcoming 2017-18 campaign on their official website on Wednesday morning, which pits the newly-promoted side against Tottenham on the opening day.
Tottenham were in unstoppable form at the end of last season, winning their final two league fixtures against Leicester and Hull by five and six-goal margins, as they sealed a second-placed finish.
But they are set to kick-off their 2017-178 campaign with a trip to St. James’ Park, and Newcastle chief Benitez insists it will be a “great start” for his club.
He told the club’s official website: “It’s always exciting to see the new fixtures and like the fans, it’s something we all look forward to.
“It’s a great start at home to Tottenham and a really exciting first game at St. James’ Park for our fans to enjoy.
“We will all have extra motivation for that game, but it will be a very tough start too because Spurs showed how good they are last season.”
Newcastle ran out surprise 5-1 winners at St. James’ Park when they last met Tottenham on the final day of the 2015-16 season, despite being reduced to 10-men through Aleksandar Mitrovic’s red card.
The Magpies had already been condemned to relegation to the Championship, but gave the home crowd something a cheerful end to the season with their thumping win over the third-placed side.
However, Benitez is under no illusions that their latest contest will be a much different affair, but backed his side to have “extra motivation” for the clash.
Their second fixture sees them travel to fellow newcomers Huddersfield, before clashes against West Ham, Swansea and Stoke City.
They are scheduled to finish the season, meanwhile, against defending Premier League champions Chelsea.