The two teams have not played each other much in the recent past having only met three times since the turn of the century. The upcoming match against Huddersfield will be the first time the two teams have met in the top flight since the 1971/72 season where both matches in that season finished goalless.
It was also on the second weekend of last season that Huddersfield came to town and surprised many people as they came away with all three points from St. James' Park on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Let's hope things will be different this time around as the Kirklees Stadium will host its first ever match in the top flight.
Facts and Figures
All Competitions
Newcastle wins: 26
Huddersfield wins: 21
Draws: 15
Top flight
Newcastle wins: 24
Huddersfield wins: 20
Draws: 14
Top flight at Huddersfield
Newcastle wins: 10
Huddersfield wins: 8
Draws: 5
Previous ten (all competitions)
Newcastle wins: 5 (20 goals)
Draws: 4
Huddersfield wins: 1 (12 goals)
Biggest win (in this fixture)
Huddersfield 2 - 6 Newcastle United (12/11/1955)
This match for Huddersfield was the sixth game of a losing streak that lasted one more match before it came to an end two weeks later in their next home game against West Bromwich Albion. Later that season, despite winning their final four games, the side from Yorkshire were relegated. They were level on points with Aston Villa, who were safe, but had a lower goal average. They had to wait until 1970 before returning to the top flight.
As for Newcastle though, it was a season where Vic Keeble top scored with 29 goals along with a mid-table finish in 11th place. After winning the FA Cup the previous season, we reached the Quarter-Finals before getting knocked out by Sunderland. However, they went on to lose 3-0 to Birmingham in the Semi-Final at Hillsborough.
Biggest defeat (in this fixture)
Huddersfield 4 - 0 Newcastle United (11/02/1933)
It wasn't a happy occasion when Newcastle faced Huddersfield that season. The two teams met at St. James' Park for the reverse fixture in October which Huddersfield ran out 4-0 winners. The two sides met again in February where Huddersfield put four past us again. Huddersfield finished sixth making it a successful season especially considering their difficult circumstances. Meanwhile, despite the two 4-0 defeats to Huddersfield, we finished one place above the Yorkshire side in fifth.
Having been in the same division as each other last season for the first time since the 1983/84 season, head to head records will probably not bear any psychological advantages for either side. If there's a winner on Sunday, it will probably be down to the quality of the two sides and a question of who simply wants the win more.