It’s a huge FA Cup weekend in England’s North East as bitter rivals Sunderland and Newcastle United meet for the first time since 2016 – when both were established Premier League sides. The Black Cats come into the fixture as underdogs, but should take confidence from their imposing H2H record against their old foes, failing to lose any of the last nine meetings (W6, D3).
Within that streak are three successive home wins for the Championship outfit. Extending that dominant record could make a bit of history as Sunderland have never won four straight home games against Newcastle United. That’d be some way for new boss Michael Beale to endear himself to the home faithful, and his stock is steadily rising after overcoming a 3-0 defeat on his debut to string together a three-match unbeaten run (W2, D1).
Despite H2H history being on the home team’s side, many will still expect Newcastle United to come out on top in this one. But anything other than a win could prove fatal for boss Eddie Howe, who irrespective of his popularity at St James’ Park, is under increasing pressure after a rotten run of seven losses from their last eight matches across all competitions (W1).
The Magpies long-standing injury crisis shows no sign of letting up as they enter the new year, and adding to the trepidation for the visiting Toon Army is their poor recent record in this competition. Each of their past three FA Cup campaigns ended at the third round stage, with the most recent two defeats in that run coming against opponents from a lower league.
Players to watch: Jack Clarke has directly contributed to a goal in each of his last three Sunderland appearances (G2, A1), with both goals coming beyond the 70th minute, while opponent Alexander Isak netted Newcastle United first goal in each of their past two fixtures.
Hot streak: Sunderland haven’t won a home FA Cup game since beating Leeds 1-0 in January 2015 (D3, L4 since).
