At a glance
- Newcastle frustration following injury
- One more fixture off Dan Burn’s bucket list
- Unfortunate results in the past
Newcastle United take on Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby today (March 22nd), their first meeting at St James’ Park since 2016. In an interview with Sky Sports, Geordie defender Dan Burn is ‘happy’ the arch-enemy have returned to the Premier League.
When the two met in December, the Black Cats came away with the win, with an own goal from Nick Woltemade being the difference in their first league derby in 10 seasons.
Burn was subbed off in the prior meeting as he suffered a broken rib and a punctured lung following a challenge with Nordi Mukiele. The Magpies defender knows what winning this fixture means to the supporters, and they will want to put the damning defeat in Spain in the rear-view mirror.
“I’m genuinely happy Sunderland came up”
Burn admitted he was frustrated that he couldn’t play as much as he hoped in December following his injury.
“I waited that long for a league derby, to not even make half-time, it was disappointing.”
The 33-year-old also believes Newcastle’s performance of the day wasn’t good enough, and they look to bounce back.
“We were prepared for it and well up for it, and we just didn’t seem to perform on the day, so I feel like that Sunderland game (On Sunday) has been marked.”
The last time the two fierce rivals met at St James’ Park was in March 2016, as they went on to share the points, as a late goal from Alexander Mitrovic ruled out Jermaine Defoe’s opener.
The fixture is highly awaited for both sets of fans, as this is the longest break the teams have endured in the league since World War II, with both clubs suffering relegation at some point over the last decade.
The Tyneside defender has missed the moments and excitement in the lead-up to the derby.
“I’ve missed it, and I’m genuinely happy when Sunderland came up because a whole generation’s missed out on those derbies and how excited people get for the games and the build-up to them.”
He continued.
“I’ve been very lucky that I’ve managed to tick off a lot of things I wanted to do at Newcastle, and I feel like a home league game against Sunderland is one of the final few.”
Newcastle need a change
Before the league meeting in December, Eddie Howe’s side beat Sunderland in the last meeting, which came in the FA Cup in January 2024.
Outside of that, the Tynesiders haven’t had a great record in this fixture over the last twenty years.
In the league matches between the two, Newcastle have only beaten the Wearside outfit four times, with two of them coming at St James’ Park, with the most victories coming in 2011.
Sunderland are unbeaten in 10 league matches against the Magpies, and it begs the question: will this affect the players on Sunday?
The Tyneside outfit were thrashed by Barcelona in midweek, but Regis Le Bris’s side are also finding it hard in recent weeks, having only won two league games since the beginning of February.
Howe’s men will have to stand up and be counted on in this game, especially after their European embarrassment.
Without club captain Bruno Guimaraes, someone in the team will have to take control, and in recent games, that has been Lewis Hall.
However, Hall can’t be the only man relied upon. If Newcastle’s dreams of qualifying for Europe are to be fulfilled, they will need every player to be in their best form.
