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The FA Cup third round has thrown up a fascinating matchup as bitter rivals Newcastle and Sunderland for the first time in several season at the Stadium of Light. The match kicks off at 12:45pm UK time.
Sunderland
Championship outfit Sunderland host bitter rivals Newcastle for the first time in almost eight years. The Tyne-Wear derby was always one of the most anticipated games on the fixture list, however, since Sunderland’s relegation from the Premier League, the pair have seldom met.
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Sunderland appear to be a club on the way back up and having been promoted from League One at the end of the 2021-22 season, they have consolidated in the second tier and are aiming for promotion this time around. Sadly, popular manager and professional north-easterner Tony Mowbray was sacked last month and has been replaced by former Rangers boss Mick Beale.
The new boss has some convincing to do, however, the Black Cats’ routine 2-0 victory over Preston on New Year’s Day will certainly help. The Wearsiders are expected to strengthen in the January transfer market and bolster their play-off push.
Last season, the Black Cats were drawn against league One Shrewsbury at this stage and managed to sneak through before exiting the competition in the fourth round to Premier League outfit Fulham. They will be hoping to dump their near neighbours out of the FA Cup without having to head back to St. James’ Park.
Although performances haven’t been spectacular, Sunderland are unbeaten in three games and will take plenty of confidence into this tie. They will have the added advantage of being at home and with a noisy Stadium of Light behind them, they should be able to make a decent contest of this lunchtime KO.
Newcastle
It’s been a forgettable couple of months for Newcastle with the Magpies crashing out of the Champions League and falling away in the race for the European spots at the top of the Premier League. Eddie Howe’s side have massively struggled with the schedule and they look exhausted. Injuries haven’t helped and they have several squad members who have been patched up to try and get through this hectic period.
They were beaten 4-2 by Liverpool on Monday night conceding an xG of 7.11 and producing just 0.60, despite scoring twice. They’ve lost five of the last six and head into this contest looking battered and bruised. They’ve lost each of their last five away games and haven’t taken a single point on the road since drawing 2-2 with Wolves on October 28th.
To compound their misery, the visitors also have an exceptionally poor recent record in this competition. The Tynesiders have crashed out of the FA Cup at the third round stage in each of the last three seasons including falling at the hands of lower league opposition; Cambridge and Sheffield Wednesday.
Newcastle’s injury woes shown no signs of letting up with Callum Wilson a confirmed absentee for this one. Kieran Trippier, who missed the Liverpool game is also a doubt.
Head to Head
These two sides haven’t faced one another in any competition since they met in March 2016 and played out a 1-1 draw in the Premier League. The points were shared courtesy of goals from Jermaine Defoe and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Despite their lower position in the pyramid, Sunderland have had the bragging rights most recently and have won six of the last seven meetings. Newcastle’s last victory in this fixture came in August 2011 when they turned up to the SOL and took away all three points courtesy of a Ryan Taylor strike.
Games between these sides don’t tend to be goal-heavy with just three of the last eight featuring three or more goals.
Key Betting Stats
- Newcastle haven’t made it past the third round of the competition in any of their last three attempts.
- Newcastle have kept just a single clean sheet away from home this season in the Premier League.
- The Magpies have conceded just once across their three League Cup matches this season.
- Sunderland haven’t drawn a match at home in the Championship this season. (W8, L5)
- Three of the last four Sunderland home games have been goalless at the break.
- Sunderland have scored 17% of their goals in the opening ten minutes of matches this season.
Match Prediction
This will not be easy for Newcastle and although this is a high-stakes match, they could find it tough against a team who will be motivated to impress their new manager.
Winning Combo
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