Monday, March 21 from 12:30am AEDT at St James’ Park, Newcastle. Watch on Fox Sports
Table position
Newcastle United: Nineteenth
Sunderland: Seventeenth
Last five match results
Newcastle United: WLLLL
Sunderland: DWLDD
DERBY matches in the English Premier League seldom need much more riding on the outcome other than bragging rights but the 2016 Tyne-Wear incarnation may be the most important one in the last decade.
Sunderland and Newcastle are staring relegation in the face, with just one point separating the two teams.
Newcastle made the drastic change of axing embattled boss Steve Maclaren just weeks before the end of the season, appointing former Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez to take his place.
The move nearly paid off almost immediately for the Magpies, who were unlucky not to leave the King Power Stadium with at least a point against the league leading Leicester last week.
Newcastle went down 1-0 early in the match but were denied a clear penalty when Wes Morgan was struck on the arm in the penalty box.
Despite not registering a win in his opening fixture as Magpies’ boss, Benitez was proud of his team’s effort and is still confident Newcastle has what it takes to remain in the Premier League.
“The future will be difficult but with this commitment and the way we worked on the pitch I think we can do it. You can’t change after the game so you have to analyse and continue working with them.” Benitez said.
“They gave everything and you could see we had chances and worked hard. Even in the second half at the end the team was pushing and pushing.
“They were trying until the end.”
This time the Magpies play at St James’ Park, and with their new boss at the helm, history is on their side.
Benitez has never lost an opening home fixture as a newly appointed boss.
Sunderland were able to snatch an equaliser against Southampton to keep themselves a point clear of the relegation zone.
The Black Cats thought they had snatched all three points against the Saints when Jermain Defoe found the back of the net with just five minutes left in the match.
It was not to be for Sunderland however, as their opponents were able to cancel out the England international’s goal three minutes into stoppage time.
Dafoe landed the decisive blow back in April of last year when the teams last met, and believes his side has the mental edge going into the pivotal clash on Monday.
“I think it is important we don’t even think about losing,” Dafoe said.
“You just have to be confident going into every game, especially with how things have gone and how we have been playing.”
The Black Cats have experienced their best ever run against Newcastle in their club’s history, winning the last six matches in a row against the Magpies.
Dafoe stated that the weight of overturning that Black Cat dominance will weigh heavily on the Magpies’ minds.
“We have to believe that we can win the game. We have beaten them in the last six, so we’ve done it before.
“I think the Newcastle players must be thinking that they have lost the last six and they desperately need to win to end that. We’ve done it the last six times, and hopefully we can make it seven. There’s a lot of pressure on them.”
Possible team line ups
Newcastle United: Elliot; Janmaat, Taylor, Lascelles, Dummett, Shelvey, Jack Colback, Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Perez, Mitrovic
Sunderland: Mannone, Yedlin, van Aanholt, Kaboul, Kone, Kirchhoff, M’Vila, Larsson, Khazri, Borini, N’Doye
Predictions
Match result: Newcastle to win ($2.15 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Correct match score: Newcastle to win 2-0 ($9.00 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Irrespective of ladder positions or what is at stake trophy-wise, the Tyne-Wear derby always delivers action in spades.
We are just lucky that absolutely everything is on the line in this one.
Newcastle will be buoyed by the appointment of Benitez, who has proven in the past he has the ability to take over struggling teams mid-season and get the most out of the playing group.
The former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss will need to overturn a six game run in which the Black Cats have dominated the Magpies.
If Newcastle come out switched on and ready to go there is no question they will prove too much for Sunderland.
Expect the Magpies to snap Sunderland’s streak and pull themselves out of the relegation zone.
First goal scorer predictions
Newcastle – Ayoze Perez ($6.50 with Sportsbet.com.au)
A Spaniard boss instructing a compatriot to find the back of the net first, sounds easy doesn’t it?
Perez has been one of the bright sparks in Newcastle’s season to date.
He possesses blistering speed and an ice-cold ability to finish under pressure – he is the obvious stand out for the Magpies to net the first goal in the Derby.
Newcastle – Georginio Wijnaldum ($8.00 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Wijnaldum is Newcastle’s top scorer this season with nine goals and looks to be terrific value at $8.00 for the first goal in the derby.
The Dutchman has the ability to score from outside the box, but he also has an uncanny knack of getting on the end of low crosses and finishing them off with aplomb.
Wijnaldum is a great outside chance to score the first in the derby and looks to be over the odds.
Sunderland – Jermain Dafoe ($7.00 with Sportsbet.com.au)
The England international scored the first goal last time out against Southampton, and also found the back of the net first against Newcastle in this fixture in April of last year.
Dafoe knows what it takes to score in big derby matches, having done so for Tottenham against Arsenal in the past.
He looks like Sunderland’s best goal scoring option and it would not be at all surprising to see Dafoe break Magpie hearts again at St James’ Park.
Sunderland – Seb Larsson ($17.00 with WilliamHill.com.au)
Seb Larsson to score the first goal in any match is always going to be a left field notion, but you always have to expect the unexpected in derby match ups.
The Swedish international has yet to score a goal in the 2015/16 season and will be looking to make his mark in the derby and open his tally for this campaign.
A set piece specialist, do not be surprised if Larsson is able to stun the Magpies at home with a long range effort from a dead ball situation.
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