Premier League Fixtures 2012-13: 6 Biggest Games for Newcastle United

We're still only in June, but Monday's release of the 2012-13 Premier League fixtures have us excited about club football once again.

There are still a few months to go before we see Newcastle United return to competitive action, but the fixtures have given us a lot of big games to look forward to.

I'm going to take you through the Magpies' six biggest and most important games of next season.

Newcastle vs. Tottenham: August 18th, 2012

The opening weekend of Premier League football always provides us with some quality matches and the fixture computer hasn't disappointed here with a match against Tottenham Hotspur.

Last time the two clubs met, Spurs emerged with a whopping 5-0 victory at White Hart Lane, and the Toon will definitely be out for revenge this time round.

Having had such a hot start to the Premier League season in 2011-12, Newcastle will be looking to emulate that even earlier here against Spurs, something that'll be essential in their campaign for Champions League football.

Head-to-head match-ups like these against Tottenham could be the difference between fourth and fifth, much like they were last season when the Lilywhites finished four points ahead of Newcastle having beaten them 7-2 overall in the league.

Sunderland vs. Newcastle: October 20th, 2012

The first Tyne-Wear Derby takes place in mid-October, and as usual, you can expect anticipation for this game to be as high as ever.

Newcastle's last visit to The Stadium of Light ended 1-0 to the Magpies, courtesy of a fantastic long-range free kick from left-back Ryan Taylor.

Though Newcastle will be favourites for the game, Sunderland always get up for derbies, and they'll be looking for an upset in Martin O'Neil's first home derby managing the club.

Newcastle vs. Manchester City: December 15th, 2012

The Premier League champions visit Tyneside on December 15th, after all but ending Newcastle's Champions League hopes at St. James' Park back in early May.

It'll be a tough test for the Magpies, but a win in a game like this could be great for building momentum and confidence.

Despite the 2-0 scoreline, the two sides were very close last time round, and you can expect more of the same in 2012-13.

Manchester United vs. Newcastle: December 26th, 2012

By the time Newcastle play Manchester United on Boxing Day, it will have been almost 41 years since the Geordies' last league victory at Old Trafford, and they'll be looking to end the duck before it reaches its anniversary in February 2013.

After a convincing 3-0 home victory against the Red Devils last season, Newcastle certainly have the capability to cause an upset, they just have to go out and get the job done.

Newcastle vs. Sunderland: April 13th, 2012

After one of the more exciting 1-1 draws we saw last season in the Premier League, Newcastle will invite rivals Sunderland back to St. James' Park for an all-important late-season clash in April.

Though the two teams may not necessarily be fighting with each other for league position at this point in the season, both will almost certainly have some landmark set in their sights to achieve before season's end.

If last season's game is anything to go by, we'll be in for a cracker.

Newcastle vs. Arsenal: May 19th, 2012

Considering how close these two teams were at the tail-end of last season, Newcastle's final game of the season against Arsenal could well be their single most important of the campaign.

The stakes will be as high as ever, with Champions League or Europa League football likely on the line, and we'll see a heart-racing affair between two attack-minded teams.

Two of the league's hottest strikers from last season, Papiss Cisse and Robin van Persie, will also be on show for us.

Could you ask for more?