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Steve McClaren's version of Newcastle United has maid rapid progress in giving the fans some degree of belief that this season may be one that i worth paying attention to after all. Although a season-opening draw with Southampton could be seen as 2 points dropped as the club saw a second-half lead pegged back very late on by Shane Long, it was far more encouraging in the style of play and the purpose with which the players moved the ball around.
A long round-trip to Swansea will provide Newcastle's first road test of the season both logistically and with the on-pitch opponent. Garry Monk is a young coach with a rapidly growing reputation within the game and has not only installed his own attractive approach to playing the game in his team but has managed to convince some long-term "Newcastle United targets" to join his project in Wales. The match will see the likes of Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew and Eder – each connected to Newcastle over a long period of time – take on the club they turned down to join Monk's men.
The match will be a tough test for Newcastle's defense with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jonjo Shelvey looking to unlock a defense that will be playing just their second match as a unit. Chancel Mbemba and Fabricio Coloccini will likely have no shortage of crosses to deal with as the opening season draw saw them concede twice from crossed balls that they were not able to deal with. Massadio Haïdara will be looking to have a better match to silence his vocal critics who were not hard to find following the Southampton match as well.
Starting Lineups will be added in as they come available. Feel free to chat along in the comments as you watch the match and you can also interact with us at @ComingHomeNUFC on the Twitter machine.
MATCH INFORMATION
Date & Time: Sunday, August 8 1500 BST (1000 Eastern, 0700 Pacific)
Venue: Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales
Projected Newcastle Starting XI: Krul; Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Haïdara; Colback, Anita; Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Obertan; Cissé
Players to watch: Chancel Mbemba, Georginio Wijnaldum, Massadio Haïdara, Fabricio Coloccini
TV Information: DirecTV Channel 491
Stream information: NBC Sports Live Extra (USA), TSN2 (Canada)