Premier League preview and odds: Sunderland vs. Newcastle

Published on: 23/10/2015

Premier League preview and odds: Sunderland vs. Newcastle

October 25, 2015 12:00pm - Stadium of Light

Premier League

The Sunday Premier League program kicks off at midday with the first of two local derby games as Sunderland take on Newcastle at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland still winless

Having accepted the challenge of keeping Sunderland in the Premier League, Sam Allardyce now has a great chance of justifying his selection by beating arch-rivals Newcastle on Sunday lunchtime. Victory against the Geordies could lift the Black Cats off the foot of the table and put them level on points with their Tyneside foes.

If the former West Ham boss can transform the fortunes of the ailing club, it might go down as his greatest achievement as a manager. After nine games, the club has amassed a total of just three points and is already five points adrift of safety. On top of their poor performances on the pitch, there has also been talk of behind-the-scenes problems and dressing room bust-ups that have been ongoing since the ill-fated tenure of Italian boss Paolo Di Canio.

The club has flirted with relegation on several occasions over the last eight seasons and a number of managers have been sacked despite avoiding the drop. With that kind of precedent, survival may be the absolute minimum requirement for Big Sam.

In their first game with Allardyce at the helm, the Mackems went down 1-0 away to West Bromwich Albion in what was their sixth defeat in nine games this season. In their four home games so far they have drawn twice (against Swansea and West Ham) and lost twice (against Norwich and Spurs).

Ray of light for Newcastle

What better way to bounce back from a 6-1 defeat, than to put six past your opponents the following week? Well, thats exactly what Steve McClaren´s men did last weekend. Not only that, but they doubled their goal tally for the season in the process. The result against Norwich finally gave the Toon Army something to cheer about after a dismal start to the season.

With four points from their last three games, the Geordies are now just two points away from the safety zone. An away win at Sunderland could lift them out of the bottom three and would certainly give the supporters a feeling of joy that has been all too rare this season.

Team news

Sam Allardyce could welcome back Jack Rodwell and Ola Toivenen from injury but Adam Matthews remains a doubt. Duncan Whatmore is the only long-term absentee.

Steve McClaren continues to struggle with the longest injury list in the Premier League and will have at least seven players missing this weekend including Tim Krul, Gabriel Obertan, Steven Taylor, Curtis Good and Emmanuel Riviere. However, Rolando Aarons and Kevin Mbabu may be available for selection.

Recent form (League)

Sunderland: LDLLL

Newcastle: WLDLL

Betting odds and tips

Sunderland have lost four out of the last five games and will be hoping to benefit from the positive boost that a new manager can sometime bring. Meanwhile, Newcastle will be hoping to carry forward the momentum from last weeks 6-2 victory over Norwich.

This game could play a pivotal role in the league campaigns of both sides. Victory could act as a springboard for further improvement while defeat could leave either side feeling downbeat going forward.

Based on recent displays, it is the team in black and white that have displayed the first shoots of recovery, having earned four points in the last three games, scoring nine goals in the process. You can back an away win at 19/10 with Bet365.

Published on: 23/10/2015

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (23/10/2015 11:55:55) but are subject to change.