Sunderland v Newcastle United: Match preview

Shields Gazette

Joe Buck previews Newcastle United's FA Cup clash with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light and just what pressure Eddie Howe's side are under to get a result against their local rivals.

Transcript

00:00 Yeah, it's funny, I think five, six weeks ago when the draw was made, you'll have seen

00:04 it on Twitter and social media, a lot of Newcastle fans, and the discourse around it was very

00:08 much, "Oh, this is Sunderland's Cup final, this is their biggest game of the season."

00:12 But five weeks on, make no mistake about it, this is Newcastle's Cup final. When that

00:16 draw was made, they'd just beat Man U. As you say, they were in the Champions League,

00:20 they were in the Carabao Cup. Now all of a sudden, they've lost 7 of 8 since then. They're

00:24 out of both of them competitions. So this is a massive game for Newcastle, and one that

00:29 Eddie Howe really can't afford to lose. He's lost both his FA Cup games as Newcastle manager

00:33 to Cambridge and then Sheffield Wednesday. So they've been beaten by lower league opposition

00:37 twice in the last two years. It's a massive game and one that the club really need to

00:42 win because after this, we don't talk too much after this, but once this Saturday's

00:46 game is out of the way, if they do get beat, they've got Aston Villa and Man City to come

00:50 before the end of January. And if you lose both of them, including Sunderland, that's

00:54 10 defeats in 11. That's relegation for them. So it is a huge game and one that they will

00:59 hope will kickstart the season, but defeat could really see their season spiral out of

01:04 control.

01:05 Okay.

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