NEWCASTLE face a tough start to life in the Championship after they were handed an away game at West Brom on the opening day of the season.

The Magpies will travel to the Hawthorns on the weekend of August 8 to face a West Brom side that was also relegated from the Premier League last season.

Newcastle will then entertain highly-rated Reading on the following weekend, before hosting Sheffield Wednesday in their opening midweek match of the season.

September's highlight should be a trip to Portman Road to face a Roy Keane-led Ipswich Town, while the Tyne-Tees derby with Middlesbrough takes place on December 19.

Newcastle travel to Hillsborough to face Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day, and their final match of 2009 will be a home game with Derby County on December 28.

2010's league programme starts with a trip to Reading on January 9, with the Magpies scheduled to visit the Riverside to face Boro on March 13.

The penultimate game of the season is at home to Ipswich on April 24, with Newcastle's final match taking them to London to face QPR on May 2.

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