Key events
Michael Beale, who has experience of the odd local skirmish in Glasgow, speaks to ITV. “It’s special … it’s special to both cities … it’s special to people in the north-east … for the FA Cup and the third round it’s fantastic to have this game back after so long … it’s two different teams … one has been heavily invested … one is a young team doing well in the Championship … so there’s a great background story in the game … you can see everyone’s looking forward to it … it’s an opportunity to be taken … they’ll get feedback from the game … it’s Newcastle’s strongest midfield so what an opportunity for them to go up against them … certainly a derby at home you can’t get a better opportunity than that … we need to play our style … we’re a football team and we play on the floor … a lot of combination play … we need to be strong defensively and show some respect as well … we’ve had clean sheets which has been a step forward but this is a bigger challenge than that.”
Our pre-match postbag is teeming with an email. Chris Paraskevas has written it. “When it comes to the Tyne-Wear derby, literally anything is possible,” he begins. “I’m talking about events that really make you question reality: grown men punching horses, Kevin Nolan netting hat-tricks, Albert Luque actually scoring a goal (yes, it happened!). This is definitely a time for cool heads as far as the players are concerned. Passion, desire and grit are wonderful buzzwords but will only get you so far: can you keep your cool and pick the right pass at the crucial moment? Can you keep your emotions in check in the heat of battle? One thing’s for sure: our opponent’s aren’t going to roll out the black-and-white carpet and stick up big signs welcoming us.”
Eddie Howe speaks to ITV. “It’s a huge game for us, for lots of different reasons … it’s the FA Cup [which] we want to do well in … our recent run of form is not at the level we want it to be … and of course we’re playing our local rivals … it’s a huge one … we’ve got a lot of local players within the squad who know what the fixture means … if you’re in Newcastle for any length of time you come to realise the magnitude of this game … whenever [Kieran Trippier] is on the pitch I feel we’re a slightly different team … we have to focus on the principles of our game … we have to be at the highest level today … we have to keep 11 men on the pitch … we know it’s a really important moment in our season.”
Pre-match reading. Allow Louise Taylor and Barry Glendenning to set the scene.
Sunderland are in If It Ain’t Broke mode. Following the 2-0 Championship win over Preston North End, Michael Beale names the same starting XI.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe responds to the 4-2 Premier League defeat at Liverpool by making two changes. Miguel Almirón and captain Kieran Trippier return, displacing Tino Livramento and Lewis Miley, who drop to the bench.
The teams
Sunderland: Patterson, Hume, O’Nien, Ballard, Alese, Ekwah, Neil, Pritchard, Bellingham, Clarke, Rusyn.
Subs: Pembele, Semedo, Burstow, Ba, Aouchiche, Seelt, Triantis, Bishop, Rigg.
Newcastle United: Dubravka, Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn, Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Almiron, Isak, Gordon.
Subs: Dummett, Lascelles, Ritchie, Krafth, Karius, Hall, Livramento, Parkinson, Miley.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire).
Preamble
Haway/Howay† the Lads! † delete according to preference
On the face of it, this should be fairly easy to predict: it’s a match between a Championship team who have only recently replaced their manager after a series of disappointing results, and the richest club in the world. However, nothing’s ever that simple, is it? Let’s see.
1. It’s the third round of the FA Cup.
2. Sunderland have won two of their last three under new manager Michael Beale.
3. Newcastle have lost seven of their last eight if you include a penalty-shoot-out defeat snatched from the jaws of victory in the League Cup, which we do.
4. Newcastle haven’t tasted victory over Sunderland since August 2011, since when the Black Cats have beaten them six times in nine attempts.
So no, nothing’s ever that simple. The singular pressure of the Tyne-Wear derby applies to both sides, but it’s Newcastle who have to deal with the expectation that comes with being the Premier League favourites, and the extraneous noise regarding Eddie Howe’s current struggles won’t help. It’s almost perfectly poised for the neutral, who can kick back and enjoy the show; the denizens of the Stadium of Light and the travelling Toon army may however be a tad less relaxed ahead of the first big north-east derby in seven years. Kick off is at 12.45pm GMT. It’s on!
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