Sunderland vs Newcastle United Premier League preview, team news and prediction

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For the first time in nearly ten years, the Tyne-Wear derby returns to the Premier League as Sunderland and Newcastle United face off at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

The last time these fierce Northern rivals met in the top flight was in March 2016, although Eddie Howe did guide Newcastle to a 3-0 FA Cup victory at Sunderland’s ground in 2024. This weekend will mark Regis Le Bris’s first experience of the Tyne-Wear derby atmosphere, and he is well aware of the significance of this clash for both the supporters and the city—a city that has quickly embraced him since his arrival.

Under the former Lorient manager, newly-promoted Sunderland have been making waves in the Premier League, threatening to disrupt the established order. However, their recent form has served as a reminder of the challenges of top-flight football, with just one win in their last six league outings. Despite that, they have managed to take points off both Arsenal and Liverpool during this spell, even though they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Manchester City last weekend.

Sunderland’s current ninth-place position in the table is already surpassing all pre-season expectations, and their home form has been a particular highlight. Le Bris’s side are unbeaten in their first seven Premier League matches at the Stadium of Light this season—a feat matched only by league leaders Arsenal—and their tally of 15 home points already exceeds their entire haul from the 2016-17 campaign.

Sunderland also have history on their side going into this derby: they haven’t lost a league match to Newcastle in ten games, with their last defeat coming at home in August 2011. Since then, the Magpies have suffered three consecutive league losses at the Stadium of Light, and Eddie Howe will be looking to avoid becoming the first Newcastle manager to lose four straight league games away to the Black Cats.

Newcastle arrive on the back of a demanding Champions League trip to Bayer Leverkusen, where they battled to a 2-2 draw against the reigning Bundesliga champions—extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches. Domestically, Howe’s team are enjoying their best spell of the season, collecting 10 points from their last four Premier League games to climb to 12th in the table, just a point behind Sunderland.

Their most recent Premier League away fixture saw Newcastle claim their first top-flight away win of the season with a 4-1 victory at Everton. However, both that result and last year’s FA Cup triumph at the Stadium of Light will count for little once the derby kicks off.

Sunderland will be without defender Luke O'Nien for the derby, as the 31-year-old begins a three-match suspension following his late red card at the Etihad. Even without the ban, O'Nien was only expected to feature on the bench this weekend.

On a more positive note, left-back Reinildo Mandava has returned to training after recovering from a groin injury and is expected to be available for selection. Dennis Cirkin (wrist) and Leo Hjelde (Achilles) are also nearing returns to the first team. However, Habib Diarra (groin) and Aji Alese (shoulder) remain sidelined. Otherwise, Sunderland head into derby day in good shape, with Le Bris once again weighing up whether to start Brian Brobbey or Wilson Isidor up front.

For Newcastle, Eddie Howe faces the prospect of being without key midfielder Joelinton, who suffered a groin injury of unknown severity during the 2-2 draw with Leverkusen. Local youngster Lewis Miley, who came off the bench to score Newcastle’s second goal at the BayArena, could be in line for a memorable start on Sunday. The Magpies will also be without Emil Krafth (knee), Sven Botman (back), Nick Pope (groin), Kieran Trippier (thigh), and Will Osula (ankle).

After struggling for goals earlier in the season, Anthony Gordon is now aiming to score in three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time in his career, though both of his league goals this season have come from the penalty spot.

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