On Saturday afternoon, Sunderland entertain arch-rivals Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light in the third round of the FA Cup.
This is the first meeting between the Tyne-Wear enemies since the 2015-16 season, when both clubs were competing in the Premier League.
Interestingly, Sunderland have avoided defeat in each of their last nine meetings with Newcastle. Can the Black Cats upset the Magpies once again?
Sunderland secured a 2-0 victory over Preston North End last time out, meaning they head into Saturday’s showdown on a three-game unbeaten run.
It is also worth noting that Sunderland have lost just two of their previous eight matches, picking up four wins and two draws along the way.
The Black Cats have been especially strong on home soil in recent times, winning eight of their 12 Championship matches at the Stadium of Light.
Thanks to that run, Sunderland find themselves sixth in the Championship table, putting them in a strong position to challenge for a play-off spot.
By contrast, Newcastle are in poor form at the moment, having lost each of their last three Premier League games while conceding eight goals.
Following a 1-0 defeat to Luton Town, the Magpies suffered a 3-1 loss against Nottingham Forest before enduring a 4-2 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool last time out.
When you look at the bigger picture, Eddie Howe’s men have managed to win just one of their previous eight matches across all competitions.
As a result, Newcastle have slipped to ninth in the Premier League table – 11 points shy of the top four and only one point inside the top half.
Head-to-head: Newcastle’s last victory over Sunderland came back in 2011. Since then, the Black Cats have picked up six wins and three draws in this fixture.
On top of that, Sunderland have won their previous two FA Cup ties against Newcastle, although the most recent triumph came all the way back in 1955-56.
Team news: Sunderland are currently without Dennis Cirkin, Bradley Dack, Corry Evans, Niall Huggins and Patrick Roberts due to injury.
Newcastle’s squad is also decimated by injury, with Nick Pope, Matt Targett, Jacob Murphy, Harvey Barnes, Elliot Anderson and Joe Willock all set to miss Saturday’s showdown.
Although Newcastle have been the superior force in the North East in recent times, Sunderland have consistently upset the Magpies.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Sunderland will rise to the occasion on Saturday, scoring over 1.5 goals on their way to victory.
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