The games are ticking by, anticipation is growing, and one of the blue-riband fixtures of any domestic season is starting to hove into view as the “Hectic Christmas And New Year Schedule” looms ever larger.
Of course, I’m talking about the Wear-Tyne derby, the first league installment of which for almost a decade will be staged at the Stadium of Light on December 14 and for which excitement and I daresay a decent amount of nerves are already kicking in.
Yes, Sunderland’s primary target this season is to ensure that our return to the Premier League isn’t a flash in the pan, with anything beyond that representing a real bonus, but make no mistake: a positive result against the “Great Sportswashed” would be a colossal feather in the red and white cap, giving everyone even greater belief that 2025/2026 could be a truly memorable campaign and ensuring this group of players write their own chapter in the great regional rivalry.
Even with a few weeks to go, this already feels like a prospective battle between a club stripped of its soul under Saudi ownership and a club reborn under new money whilst preserving the essence of what it is to be red and white.
Who wins? How long have you got?
As recently as a few weeks ago, Newcastle seemed to be mired in a real and sustained post-Alexander Isak slump, whereas we were racking up impressive result after impressive result with a newly-assembled team. Inconsistency was the hallmark of their domestic form, with Champions League football testing their squad depth, whereas we weren’t taking a backwards step against anyone — with our thrilling victory at Chelsea representing the very best of what the Lads can do.
As such, there seemed to be a growing belief that when Eddie Howe brought his charges to Wearside, we not only stood an excellent chance of sending them back to Tyneside on the back of a defeat, but that many of our high-profile signings (none of whom “would make it into our team”, depending on how much attention you paid to Newcastle fans’ observations on social media) would demonstrate exactly why we were so keen to sign them.
For me, it was all slightly premature and our loss against Fulham combined with Newcastle’s victory over Manchester City did show that no matter how things may feel, the dynamic can shift on a sixpence.
I’ve always felt that it would be foolish to look too far down the line — not least when you consider the challenging games we have to navigate between now and then in the shape of clashes with Bournemouth, Manchester City and Liverpool — and our season’s fortunes won’t be defined by what happens against Newcastle, either.
We’ve already shown that we’re a very good and exceptionally fearless side, and as annoying as it might be, Newcastle do have an ability to summon impressive results from somewhere — all of which feeds into the thrillingly tense nature of this inter-city clash.
In these kinds of one-off games, Howe is always a canny operator and as Régis Le Bris proved during our 2024/2025 playoff run, he’s certainly blessed with the ability to coax big performances and game-changing contributions from the Lads when the stakes are at their highest.
This should set the game up nicely but given that both teams have some tough-looking fixtures to deal with in the meantime, the message really needs to be “Let’s keep things rolling, ensure we continue to remain competitive, and deal with it when the time comes”.
Outsiders may sneer, but the fact is that the Wear-Tyne derby is a unique occasion and the Premier League is far better for its inclusion on the schedule. As of right now, the balance of power hasn’t shifted in the North East and it’s premature to claim otherwise, but Sunderland haven’t been the top flight whipping boys that Newcastle fans doubtless hoped we would be, and it’ll make for one of the most intriguing derbies of recent times.
In my view, the only certainty is that Sunderland will take to the field having been set up far more adeptly from a tactical point of view than we were during the ill-fated FA Cup clash of 2023/2024.
Le Bris will doubtless take an even more meticulous approach to his preparations for the game, studying any potential black and white weaknesses closely and figuring out how we can capitalise on them. At 1:55pm, we’ll make the walk down the tunnel armed with a battery of quality players who can make a real difference — and led by a skipper in Granit Xhaka for whom such an occasion will hold no fear.
It’s drawing ever closer and depending on your disposition, it’ll either be an occasion to savour or one to dread, but the thought of taking part in games like this is surely what made those years in exile slightly more tolerable.
Let’s hope we arrive in good form, with confidence high, and the Lads ready to deliver.
