  We carried out new observations of two fields in the northern ring of M31
with XMM-Newton with two exposures of 100 ks each and obtained a complete list
of X-ray sources down to a sensitivity limit of ~7 x 10^34 erg s^-1 (0.5 - 2.0
keV). The major objective of the observing programme was the study of the hot
phase of the ISM in M31. The analysis of the diffuse emission and the study of
the ISM is presented in a separate paper. We analysed the spectral properties
of all detected sources using hardness ratios and spectra if the statistics
were high enough. We also checked for variability. We cross-correlated the
source list with the source catalogue of a new survey of the northern disc of
M31 carried out with Chandra and Hubble (Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda
Treasury, PHAT) as well as with other existing catalogues. We detected a total
of 389 sources, including 43 foreground stars and candidates and 50 background
sources. Based on the comparison to the Chandra/PHAT survey, we classify 24
hard X-ray sources as new candidates for X-ray binaries (XRBs). In total, we
identified 34 XRBs and candidates and 18 supernova remnants (SNRs) and
candidates. Three of the four brightest SNRs show emission mainly below 2 keV,
consistent with shocked ISM. The spectra of two of them also require an
additional component with a higher temperature. The SNR [SPH11] 1535 has a
harder spectrum and might suggest that there is a pulsar-wind nebula inside the
SNR. We find five new sources showing clear time variability. We also studied
the spectral properties of the transient source SWIFT J004420.1+413702, which
shows significant variation in flux over a period of seven months (June 2015 to
January 2016) and associated change in absorption. Based on the likely optical
counterpart detected in the Chandra/PHAT survey, the source is classified as a
low-mass X-ray binary.
