'What a game': Paul Merson is excited for the Wear-Tyne derby as he predicts the score for Sunday's derby
The big one is near. The first Wear-Tyne derby in the Premier League in nine years is almost upon us, with Newcastle United visiting Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. Kick-off is at 2 pm, and it's live on Sky Sports.
Even the neutrals seem to be excited for this one, especially as it really could go either way this weekend.
Sunderland have been flying on their return to the Premier League, but Newcastle are starting to gather momentum.
A win for Newcastle would put them above their local rivals for the first time this season, which is almost as good as the bragging rights that come with the win.
Get off the fence, Merse
We mentioned that it was going to be difficult to call, and that has been proved by Paul Merson's score prediction for Sportskeeda.
"What a game. The big derby returns to the Premier League! We say this every week but Sunderland have been unbelievable, haven't they? No matter how many times we say it, this performance on their return to the top-flight never loses its shine.
"Newcastle are scoring goals, but they just can't keep a clean sheet. The last time they prevented a team from scoring was seven games ago against Athletic Club in the Champions League. If you go player for player on paper, it's a Newcastle win. But I can assure you that this game can never be won on paper! The Stadium of Light will be absolutely rocking and Sunderland will put up a strong fight.
"I hate doing it but I'm going to have to sit on the fence here. Draw for me.
"Prediction: Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle United"
This isn't how this was supposed to go
Newcastle need to keep their concentration for 90 minutes and not 88 as has been the case lately, and that way we can see out the game as we're meant to.
The nerves are very real ahead of this one. This is absolutely not how we saw this fixture looking before the season got underway. We were half expecting to confirm Sunderland's return to the Championship by this point, but credit where it's due, they have looked like they belong this season.
So it's down to us to bring them back to reality. Hopefully.
