Newcastle United and Sunderland fans have been waiting for this day for a long time, but the Tyne-Wear derby is finally back in the Premier League.
The last time Newcastle United and Sunderland met, in the Premier League at least, was way back in 2016. That game ended in a 1-1 draw, but we’ve seen some truly thrilling derbies in the years previous.
If you couldn’t say Shola Ameobi, who is the one Newcastle player you instantly think about from Tyne-Wear derby history?
Big shoutout to Albert Luque!
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
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Sunderland have had a good time against the Magpies, but Eddie Howe and his players will be looking to regain bragging rights in the North East on Sunday afternoon.
Anthony Gordon believes the pressure is on Sunderland, and it’s easy to see why. This is one of the biggest games in English football, and Sam Allardyce totally agrees.
Photo by Alex Livesey – FIFA/FIFA via Getty ImagesWhat Sam Allardyce said about Tyne-Wear derby
Allardyce, who has previously managed Sunderland and spent eight months as Newcastle United manager, is well-placed to assess the nature of the Tyne-Wear derby.
Over on the Sunderland Twitter/X account, Allardyce was asked to describe the upcoming game in just one word, and his reply perfectly summed it up.
Allardyce called it an “Epic” game and we have to agree.
Both clubs are massive, with over 52,000 fans watching Newcastle at St. James’ Park week after week, and an average of over 46,000 fans making the trip to the Stadium of Light to watch Sunderland each week.
So much has been made about the midfield and goalkeeper selection dilemmas, but who are you starting in central defence?
Sven Botman doesn’t look like making it 😟
I’m going with Thiaw and Burn. Is that harsh on Fabian Schar?
Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
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Sunderland have dominated Newcastle in recent years
Newcastle United fans may feel like their club is bigger and better than Sunderland right now. The Magpies are in the Champions League, won the Carabao Cup last season, and have been in the top flight while Sunderland have been down in the Championship and League One.
Sunderland, however, are above their fierce rivals in the Premier League table ahead of today’s game, albeit by just one point.
The Black Cats have also had a good time of it against Newcastle in their past meetings. In fact, when it comes to league matches, Sunderland are unbeaten in nine against the Magpies.
Newcastle did win the last meeting between the two teams, a 3-0 victory in the FA Cup. But, prior to that, Sunderland had won six and drawn three, with a positive run stretching back to August 2011. Will that run finally come to an end today?
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