Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of Urawa Reds vs Newcastle United, live from the Saitama Stadium 2002 in Japan.
The Magpies will be in action for the first of two friendlies during their pre-season tour of Japan, as a strong squad look to build up their fitness in a tough test against the 2022 Asian Champions League winners.
Eddie Howe's men will be without Kieran Trippier and Anthony Gordon who will join the squad after the tour of Japan because of their run to the final of EURO 2024 with England.
They will also be without the likes of Callum Wilson, Sven Botman, Jamaal Lascelles, Matt Targett and Joe White, who miss the trip through injury, but Howe will have 29 players to look at during their two matches in the Far East.
Newcastle have already beaten SpVgg Unterhaching and Hull City so far in pre-season as they continue to ramp up their preparations ahead of the Premier League kick-off.
Stick with us for build-up, updates and reaction throughout the day.
Key Events
TEAM NEWS
NUFC XI: Pope, Livramento, Krafth, Burn, Hall, Joelinton, Willock, Longstaff, Murphy, Isak, Barnes.
Team news soon!
Toon fans beginning to fill the stadium out in Japan
#nufc fans getting ready here in Saitama pic.twitter.com/4nSc7itz9L
— Lee Ryder (@lee_ryder) July 31, 2024
NUFC fans in place
One very creative banner is already on display inside the Saitama Stadium...
The first #NUFC fans are in place inside the Saitama Stadium
— The Chronicle (@ChronicleNUFC) July 31, 2024
"Have you ever seen a Mackem in Japan?" reads one banner pic.twitter.com/f9SQa5111p
This morning's top stories
While we build towards kick off, let's take a look at this morning's top NUFC stories.
When does Urawa Reds vs Newcastle United kick off?
The match kicks off at 11:30am BST. Saitama is eight hours ahead of Newcastle so the game will kick off at 7:30pm local time.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of Urawa Reds vs Newcastle United from the Saitama Stadium 2002 in Japan. Stick with us for all of the latest build-up, updates and reaction to the Magpies' latest pre-season friendly throughout the day.
