Newcastle United will be welcomed back to St James' Park by a huge crowd at the weekend - with just a few seats available for Saturday's friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
This will be Newcastle's final warm-up game before the Magpies' season gets back under way next week following the World Cup break. Although there is a quick turnaround between the fixtures, after the Carabao Cup tie against Bournemouth was brought forward by 24 hours because of planned NHS strike action, Eddie Howe will certainly be taking the Rayo friendly seriously. The Newcastle boss, after all, once said that there is 'no such thing as a dead game' for his side.
The game will also form a crucial part of Newcastle's preparations for the restart as the Magpies' first home fixture since the 1-0 win against Chelsea five weeks previously, which was the hosts' final game before the World Cup break, and supporters are clearly itching to back into St James'. Some areas of the stadium at Level 7, admittedly, appear to be 'locked', as it is only a friendly, but there were just 502 seats available online in the Leazes End, three seats in the East Stand and a couple of seats in the Gallowgate as of Tuesday morning along with a further 14 premium tickets in hospitality.
