Sunderland and Newcastle United, bitter rivals of Tyne-Wear, square up for the first time in nearly eight years.
For this Saturday’s Tyne-Wear derby between Sunderland and Newcastle United (kick-off at 12:45 p.m.), Craig Pawson has been named match referee.
The first meeting between the two teams since March 2016 ended in a 1-1 tie at St. James’ Park. Jermaine Defoe gave United the lead, but Alexander Mitrovic’s late goal kept them inside a point.
After the season, the Magpies were demoted from the Premier League, but a year later, they switched places with Sunderland. After that, the Black Cats were demoted to League One, where they remained for four years until making a comeback to the Championship in 2022.
Since then, Newcastle has had a change of ownership and has qualified for the Champions League under Eddie Howe. Despite this, the team has lost seven of its previous eight games across all competitions coming into Wearside. In the meantime, Sunderland, under new manager Michael Beale, are sixth in the second-tier league after winning two, drawing one, and losing their first three games.
The FA has enlisted the services of a Premier League referee to oversee the match because they anticipate a difficult atmosphere at the Stadium of Light come kickoff.
In September, Pawson played center midfield for Newcastle against Brentford at home. Howe’s team won 1-0 because the Sheffield-born referee gave Anthony Gordon a penalty kick.Callum Wilson became a believer.
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