For the first time since 2016, there will be a Tyne-Wear derby in the Premier League, as we travel to the Stadium of Light on the 14th of December in one of our most anticipated games of the campaign.
Since trouncing the Mackems there in the FA Cup back in January 2024, we’ve gone on to win silverware and qualify for the Champions League, whilst Regis Le Bris’ side have themselves enjoyed quite the rise up the Championship and Premier League table.
In the midst of a difficult run of form for Eddie Howe’s side, the last thing we perhaps needed was a high-stakes derby in the midst of an already tricky run of games throughout December.
But hopes are still very high that we can dispatch the Mackems with ease once again, though Alan Shearer has urged us to still be wary of the they they’ve posed big teams already this season…
Shearer on Sunderland trip
Speaking to Betfair, Alan Shearer has praised Sunderland for their strong start to the Premier League season, but insists he is still not fearing our upcoming trip to the Stadium of Light in just over four weeks time.
Having played in 11 Tyne-Wear derbies himself, Shearer’s a man who knows the fixture inside out. And for a good portion of our squad, it will be their first taste of one of English football’s fiercest rivalries.
Discussing the derby and Sunderland’s surprising from, he said:
“I wouldn’t say I am worried about the derby against Sunderland in a few weeks, but I’ve been mightily surprised at how well Sunderland have done.
“I don’t think even their most hardened supporters would tell you that they’d be where they are in the league and what they’re doing so far this season.
“I think one thing that’s come out of Sunderland is how tough it’s going to be for any team going to the Stadium of Light.
“I doubt Arsenal will have a tougher game this season than the one they had at the weekend.”
After quite the summer spending spree, Sunderland have assembled an almost entirely new XI compared to the side that won the play-offs last season.
The mix of European football-calibre talent and promising youngsters has attracted strong praise from the media, and their performance against Arsenal this past weekend saw Sunderland snatch a point against the title favourites.
A tough away test awaits
With all the talk about our current away form, you would have to go back to August 2011 for our last league win at the Stadium of Light: 1-0 courtesy of of Ryan Taylor’s sensational strike.
But having not played against each other in the top flight for close to a decade, we can’t rely on history and past results to be any indicator as to how we’ll do.
Thankfully this season, it’s been the ‘big’ games where our players have shone and the team’s overall performance has been at its best. Barcelona, Liverpool, Spurs, the rest of our Champions League games, where we’ve beaten Union SG, Benfica and Athletic Bilbao by an aggregate score of 9-0.
The worry, of course, is our Premier League away form in between all of that, where we’ve failed to beat the likes of Leeds, Bournemouth, Brighton, West Ham and Brenford. After such a torrid run on the road, our performances levels simply must improve on 14th December.
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