Newcastle United pulled off a double against West Ham last season with wins at the London Stadium and St James' Park.
That wasn't bad going considering the Hammers shocked us all by finishing sixth and qualifying for Europe.
West Ham will find it tough going this term with those Europa League commitments adding congestion to the fixture list but will start relatively fresh on Tyneside.
Steve Bruce is in need of any type of victory to get the season off to the best possible start as fans return in their numbers back to St James' Park.
READ MORE: Newcastle's season predicted in a nutshell
Lee Ryder's prediction
You can see Sky Sports' reasoning in picking this fixture as the appetiser for Man City vs Tottenham given the two clashes last season.
I think this will be a decent opening game and thankfully for Steve Bruce he will have Callum Wilson available from the start.
Whether Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron play bigger roles than substitutes remains to be seen.
A tricky start but I think Newcastle can make a winning one to the season.
Referee
Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)
Betting
West Ham are the favourites with Bet 365 at 6/5 with Newcastle at 11/5 to start the season with a win
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