Sunderland play host to Newcastle United on Sunday looking to record their first Premier League victory of the season after picking up just three points from their opening nine fixtures.
Newcastle travel to the Stadium of Light for the Wear-Tyne derby after hitting six goals against Norwich City, but they are under pressure to restore local pride after losing the last five fixtures between the two sides.
Sunderland
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When Sam Allardyce was placed in charge of Sunderland with over a week remaining until their top-flight encounter with West Bromwich Albion, the plan had been for the former West Ham United boss to boost morale and reorganise a squad whose only victory of the season had come against Exeter City in the Capital One Cup.
However, after witnessing a bright start from his new side, Allardyce quickly discovered that there would be no quick fix at the North-East outfit, who succumbed to their sixth Premier League defeat of the season and extended their run without a clean sheet to 11 matches in all competitions.
Allardyce attempted to shift attention from the setback by claiming that two fouls had been committed during the build-up to Saido Berahino's winner, and he arguably had a case too. However, one fact that Allardyce could not get away from is that his side had hit the target just twice and failed to find the back of the net for the fourth time in their last five league outings.
The Black Cats have enough quality at their disposal to improve both the defensive and attacking aspects of their game, as well as put together a run of results in the process, but their outlook for the coming weeks depends on their showing against their arch rivals, who established a three-point margin ahead of them last weekend.
Sunderland should benefit from the return of Jeremain Lens from suspension, with the Dutch winger netting a goal-of-the-month contender in his last appearance against West Ham United, but if his team cannot breach a Newcastle backline that have conceded 10 times in their last three matches, Allardyce will be aware that he faces a battle to retain the faith of a set of supporters who have welcomed him to the Stadium of Light with open arms.
Recent form: LDLLDL
Recent form (all competitions): LLLLDL
Newcastle United
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Despite earning draws against Manchester United and Chelsea since the start of the season, Newcastle boss Steve McClaren would have been aware that losing to Norwich City last weekend would put him perilously close to the exit door at St James' Park.
Fortunately for McClaren, though, the Magpies finally found their groove in the final third and displayed the kind of quality that McClaren would have been expecting on a weekly basis after shelling out almost £40m on improving attacking areas during the summer.
There are still major concerns regarding a defence who possess the second-worst record in the division, but McClaren will at least feel confident that Newcastle can out-score opponents of a similar standing after witnessing Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic hit the goal trail.
Wijnaldum deservedly made the headlines for his four-goal salvo, but McClaren may have taken more encouragement from the performance of Mitrovic, who has now scored in successive games after initially struggling with being seen as the frontline striker that the club have been missing since the days of Alan Shearer.
No-one associated with Newcastle will be getting carried away with the success over Norwich, but it is a step in the right direction in satisfying the demands of supporters, who have been deprived of goals all season and who have seen their team fall to defeats against the likes of Watford and Sheffield Wednesday since McClaren replaced John Carver.
A point on Sunday would probably be warmly received, especially given their recent record against Sunderland, but if Newcastle can record a second triumph in a row, that could be the springboard they need to take full advantage of some of the winnable fixtures that are coming up during November.
Recent form: LLLDLW
Recent form (all competitions): LLLDLW
Team News
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Sunderland have Lens and defender Sebastian Coates available for selection after both men missed the West Brom defeat because of a one-match ban.
The duo should return to the starting lineup, as should Ola Toivonen, who missed out at The Hawthorns because of a groin problem.
Striker Steven Fletcher is expected to retain his spot in the team ahead of Jermain Defoe and Danny Graham.
McClaren has revealed that he has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match, and the former Derby County manager is likely to name an unchanged team.
Kevin Mbabu, who recently made his debut against Chelsea, could make the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Pantilimon; Jones, Yedlin, Coates, O'Shea; Larsson, Cattermole, Gomez, M'Vila, Lens; Fletcher
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Elliot; Janmaat, Coloccini, Mbemba, Dummett; Sissoko, Tiote, Colback, Wijnaldum; Perez, Mitrovic
Head To Head
Sunday's match represents the 152nd time that Sunderland and Newcastle have locked horns, and there has been very little between the sides since the first match in 1898.
Newcastle have claimed the bragging rights on 53 occasions, with Sunderland marginally behind on 49 wins, while there have also been 49 draws.
However, it is the Black Cats who have dominated the recent matches between the two clubs, emerging victorious in the last five games and remaining unbeaten for seven meetings, a run stretching as far back as August 2011.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Sunderland 0-2 Newcastle United
Losing to West Bromwich Albion has heaped the pressure on Allardyce's men ahead of this weekend's clash, and we are backing Newcastle to take full advantage. The Magpies looked full of goals against Norwich last weekend, and if they can play with the same kind of freedom, we believe that they will run out convincing winners.
Darren Plant
