Michael Beale explains the key to Sunderland beating Newcastle United

Luke O’Nien is the only member of the current Black Cats squad to have lined up against a Newcastle side at the Stadium of Light, but that barely counts given that his outing came in an EFL Trophy win over the Magpies’ Under-21s side in January 2019.

Beale has more relevant recent experience of taking on the Tynesiders given that he was standing in the dugout as Steven Gerrard’s assistant when Aston Villa lost narrowly to Newcastle in 2022 and was also in charge of Rangers when Eddie Howe’s side claimed a last-gasp winner in a pre-season friendly at Ibrox in July.

The Sunderland boss knows his side face a major challenge against their Premier League opposition, although Newcastle’s poor recent form – they have lost six of their last seven matches – means the Black Cats could be taking on their bitterest rivals at the best possible time.

“My team is going to have to be at its very, very best,” said Beale. “I played against Newcastle in pre-season this year with Rangers, so I got to see them close up there, I know a little bit about some of the players in their squad, and I coached against them with Aston Villa when Eddie was manager too. It’s not my first time going up against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle.

“They’re a good team. There’s been a lot said (about Newcastle’s poor run), but they’ll see this as a chance to lay down a marker. We’re playing against a very good Premier League team, but the fact there’s maybe a bit of noise is because they’re not getting the results that people maybe thought they would get.”

Newcastle have looked surprisingly vulnerable defensively in the last few games, with Nottingham Forest having carved them apart repeatedly as they claimed a shock 3-1 away win on Boxing Day.

Liverpool also created chances at will in their New Year’s Day success at Anfield, but while Beale was watching that game and making notes about ways to potentially hurt Newcastle, he had to check himself from time to time.

“You get caught into watching that Liverpool game and thinking, ‘We could do some of those things’,” he said. “Then you remember that you don’t have Mo Salah in your team!

“Listen, every team has got strengths and weaknesses, and Newcastle’s pressing has been a big part of their success in the time that Eddie Howe has been there. They’re extremely organised and extremely fit, a great team on the counter-attack, and they’re physically strong as well.

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe (Image: PA)

“The two clubs are in completely different places to when the last derby was played (in 2016). We've been down to League One and are now the youngest team in the Championship, possibly in the country.

“They'll be favourites, but I don't think I'll get a free hit and I'm not looking at it that way. I'm looking at it as a great opportunity for my young players to go and show their potential to play at that level.”

Howe’s position has been called into question in some quarters with Newcastle having crashed out of both the Champions League and Carabao Cup last month, but Beale feels his opposite number has been the victim of his own success on Tyneside.

“Eddie is everything that is good about British coaching,” he said. “He has done a good job to this moment. Sometimes, you can overachieve a little bit early. Only he will know the pressure he is under. But it’s a derby, so I’m sure both of us will get it in the neck if we lose.”

And while the stakes could hardly be higher on both sides of the Wear-Tyne divide, Beale is relishing the prospect of being involved in the first derby encounter in almost eight years.

“You can feel the anticipation building,” he said. “It’s a fixture that captivates everyone in the North-East, but the whole nation is looking forward to this. It’s the tie of the round – we’re the fortunate ones to be involved in it.”