Magpies should finally take all the spoils from Black Cats

Premier League 7/2 relegation chances Sunderland go into this Tyne-Wear derby undefeated against Newcastle United in their last five battles, including getting the double over them last season. However, despite that run, Coral make the Black Cats 3/1 outsiders for victory.

That is likely due in part to the Magpies’ hot streak in the last nine matches, where they have won six of their last nine in the Premier League, including taking all the spoils against Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool. As a result, they are evens favourites for their first home victory over their northeast rivals since 2010.

The pressure finally seems to be off Alan Pardew, after his side’s poor start to the season, for the time being at least, and a repeat of that 5-1 defeat of the Black Cats in 2010 could in fact put further pressure on counterpart Gus Poyet. That scoreline in Newcastle’s favour again is 125/1.

Poyet is fourth-equal favourite at 14/1 to be the next Premier League manager to leave, with his side on a run of six games without a win. Five of those have been draws, though, so take odds of 12/5 if you fancy that outcome here.

The Uruguayan has a fantastic record against the Magpies as a manager, having won all four of his matches, but Pardew is keen to rectify that stat, and he spoke of the importance of the fixture ahead of the clash.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play in cup finals, but if any manager asked me, ‘What’s the biggest game you’ve been involved in?’, I’d say Newcastle versus Sunderland,” the Newcastle boss said.

“The electricity of this game really is something else, and you have to be at it to appreciate it. I’m looking forward to experiencing that again.

“The end, not so much if you lose. Particularly around Christmas time when it’s goodwill to all men, the gravy is going to be a bit lumpy if we lose. So it’s important to win.”

After losing 3-0 at home in both of the Toon’s last two battles with Sunderland, who are 60/1 chances to beat them by that scoreline again, Pardew added: “We made mistakes and they punished us. We weren’t patient enough and they played a similar game to how they will play on Sunday, playing deep and looking to hurt us on the break.