Newcastle United-Sunderland Preview
New Sunderland boss Dick Advocaat knows just how significant the Wear-Tyne derby is to both sets of supporters as he prepares his team for Sunday's match against Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats (4-14-12) are 17th in the Premier League table, just one place and one point above the drop zone. The Wearsiders, who have gone seven league matches without a win, were beaten 1-0 at West Ham just before the international break in Advocaat's first match at the helm since replacing the sacked Gus Poyet on Mar. 17.
Despite being caught up in a relegation dogfight with just eight matches to play, Sunderland will be looking for their fifth straight win against their bitter north-east rivals.
"It is a new derby for me but I know that for everyone here it is a very important game," Advocaat told the Sunderland website. "This is a special one but for us every game at the moment is very important.
"The most important thing is what we do because Newcastle United have some very good individuals, so straight from the beginning we want to show them what we want. We want to be sharp in the duels and if we get the ball we have enough good players in the team to do something."
The Magpies (9-8-13) have also struggled in recent weeks, and three straight league defeats have left them 12th in the standings, 10 points clear of the relegation places.
Newcastle were beaten 2-1 at home by Arsenal in their last league match on Mar. 21. Olivier Giroud scored twice for the Gunners, with Moussa Sissoko replying for the Magpies.
Spanish forward Ayoze Perez, who played in the reverse league fixture at St James' Park which Sunderland won 1-0 thanks to a last-minute goal from Adam Johnson, is relishing the prospect of lining up against the Black Cats once more.
"In the first derby, I realised the importance of the match here in the region and I loved the atmosphere at St. James'," the 21-year-old Perez told the Newcastle website. "This Sunday, I know the atmosphere will be completely different but this is a motivation too. We have to give everything. The fans deserve it.
"The derbies are for the fans. We want to make our fans proud of the team. The best thing after the derby would be to see the kids wearing their Newcastle jerseys at school with pride. That's what we want and we are going to fight to get it."
Sunderland will have Lee Cattermole available after suspension, while Billy Jones could return after seven weeks out with a hamstring problem. Wes Brown, Will Buckley and Emanuele Giaccherini remain sidelined.
Newcastle duo Fabricio Coloccini and Papiss Cisse are still banned, but Mehdi Abeid returns to the squad after recovering from a thigh problem. Massadio Haidara, Steven Taylor, Paul Dummett, Cheick Tiote and Siem de Jong are all still absent.
Sunderland's recent winning run has nearly evened the all-time Premier League history between the clubs. The Black Cats now have seven wins over Newcastle, while the Magpies have nine. The sides have drawn nine of the 25 Premier League meetings, with Newcastle holding a 35-30 goal edge.
The Black Cats have scored just one goal in six league matches, Jack Rodwell's equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Hull on March 3.
The Magpies have developed an unfortunate habit of conceding late goals and conceded a league-high nine in the final five minutes of games.