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Newcastle United start their 2015-16 campaign at St. James' Park with a match against much-fancied Southampton. This season in particular has engendered hope the likes of which hasn't been felt by Newcastle fans since the end of the 2011-12 season. We have a new coach with fresh ideas. We have three fancy new signings who have signalled at the very least a higher level of investment and a higher level of talent – even if they are still extremely young – which is exciting. Now the time for talking is over and the change must show where it matters. On the pitch.
Southampton, the club the likes of which we can't hope to compete, comes visiting having played in Europe on Thursday. So far as we can tell, Ronald Koeman (who will miss the match thanks to a ruptured Achilles tendon) has not prepared Saints fans for the effects of #TiredBodies. They will be hoping to buck the trend of Europa League horror stories that the Premier League has aplenty.
There are story lines. There is intrigue. There is excitement. It will all come to a head when Newcastle United and Southampton kick off at 1:30 pm at St. James' Park. Here's hoping that all of that isn't beaten out of us in the grandest tradition of the last 3 seasons.
NEWCASTLE STARTING LINEUP
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TEAM NEWS: Here's how <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NUFC?src=hash">#NUFC</a> will line up against <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaintsFC?src=hash">#SaintsFC</a> at St. James' Park this afternoon (kick-off 1:30pm UK). <a href="http://t.co/5Q3WUXsCem">pic.twitter.com/5Q3WUXsCem</a></p>— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/NUFC/status/630340307343814656">August 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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SOUTHAMPTON STARTING LINEUP
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TEAMSHEET: Here's how <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaintsFC?src=hash">#SaintsFC</a> line up for today's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BPL?src=hash">#BPL</a> opener against <a href="https://twitter.com/NUFC">@NUFC</a>! <a href="http://t.co/Hx1n1jdXSH">pic.twitter.com/Hx1n1jdXSH</a></p>— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthamptonFC/status/630340249818931200">August 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
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MATCH INFORMATION
Date & Time: Sunday, August 8 1330 BST (0830 Eastern, 0530 Pacific)
Venue: St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Projected Newcastle Starting XI: Krul; Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Haïdara; Colback, Tiote; Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Aarons; Mitrovic
Players to watch: Aleksandar Mitrovic, Chancel Mbemba, Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Sissoko
TV Information: DirecTV Channel 491
Stream information: NBC Sports Live Extra (USA), TSN1, TSN5 (Canada)