IT'S the first Wear-Tees derby of the season at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, with both Sunderland and Middlesbrough harbouring hopes of a promotion push this term.

The Black Cats have had a blistering start but suffered defeat for the first time this season at Plymouth last time out, while there was more frustration for Boro in their draw with Preston.

So who will have the edge this weekend? Where will the game be won and lost? What would be the strongest combined XI of both sides? Prediction? And is it a derby? Scott Wilson and Dom Shaw discuss...

WHERE WILL THE GAME BE WON AND LOST?

SW: I think the central-midfield battle will be crucial. Sunderland have already developed a fairly settled midfield three, with Dan Neil, Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg playing alongside each other. That’s an extremely strong unit for the Championship, and means Sunderland can do a bit of everything in midfield.

They can be solid when they need to be, while carrying an attacking threat. Boro are likely to start with Aidan Morris and Hayden Hackney as their central midfielders and Tommy Conway in a more advanced ‘number ten’ role.

Conway was Boro’s best player last weekend, and Sunderland will have to work out how to deal with him when he drops into the hole between their defence and midfield.

DS: The flanks are going to be crucial. Boro's left was exploited by Preston last week, which makes me wonder whether Riley McGree could come into the side to offer some more support for Neto Borges. And on the right, Luke Ayling is tasked with shackling Sunderland's form man Romaine Mundle.

Going the other way, will it be Isaiah Jones or Ben Doak on the right? Doak's cameo was exciting last week and Carrick says the Liverpool loanee is "ready and raring to go".

ARE YOU EXPECTING ANY TEAM SELECTION SURPRISES?

SW: Not really. With Dan Ballard fit, Sunderland’s team pretty much picks itself. Wilson Isidor is probably the player pushing hardest for a promotion to the starting side, but it’s hard to see Regis Le Bris leaving out either Romaine Mundle or Eliezer Mayenda to accommodate him in the side.

Michael Carrick might be more tempted to make a change or two, and his defensive selection is likely to hinge on the availability of Rav van den Berg. If the Dutchman is fit, he surely starts at centre-half. Carrick might also decide to play Riley McGree on the left-hand side to provide some increased protection for left-back Neto Borges.

DS: Had Alan Browne been fit, you wonder whether he'd have come into the side for some added know-how in a fixture like this. But who would he have replaced? Dan Ballard's availability is a major boost and with that in mind the Black Cats are likely to be unchanged.

As for Boro, Aidan Morris will come back into the side after being rested last week but in front of him Tommy Conway is almost certain to keep his place at No.10. As discussed above, a start for McGree is a possibility. And if van den Berg is fit enough, he'll start, but Carrick was keeping his cards close to his chest on that one.

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WHAT’S YOUR COMBINED SUNDERLAND/BORO XI?

SW: This is going to cause some controversy whatever I say, I reckon! There are quite a few close calls in here, but I’ll go:

Patterson; Ayling, van den Berg, Ballard, Cirkin; Bellingham, Neil, Hackney; Jones, Latte Lath, Mundle.

DS (4-2-3-1): Patterson, Ayling, van den Berg, Ballard, Cirkin; Hackney, Rigg; Roberts, Conway, Mundle; Latte Lath

ON THE EVIDENCE OF THE SEASON SO FAR, WHERE WILL THESE TWO TEAMS FINISH?

SW: At the start of the season, I thought Boro would finish a fair bit higher than Sunderland. I’d still back Boro to finish as the higher of the two, but I think the gap will be a lot closer than I perhaps thought a couple of months ago.

Boro have the deeper squad, and assuming their injury list remains at a manageable level, Carrick should have selection decisions to make throughout the season. It can be argued that Sunderland have some better individuals, and you can definitely construct an argument that the Black Cats’ first-choice XI is stronger than Boro’s. The depth isn’t there in key areas though – most obviously in attack – and Le Bris is much more reliant than Carrick on his key players staying fit.

DS: I fancied Boro to be in the mix for promotion before a call was kicked and that hasn't changed. As for Sunderland, they were something of an unknown quantity before the season got underway but Le Bris deserves immense credit for his immediate impact. 

I still think Boro have more depth and balance to their squad and when Carrick's side find their feet I fancy them to go on a run and take residence in the top six. Sunderland need to keep their key players fit and I still worry they've left themselves short up-top, but I still think they'll have enough to finish in the play-offs.

IS IT A DERBY?

SW: It is for me. Sunderland fans will say it’s not ‘the derby’, and that’s fair enough. A game against Boro is never going to have the same emotional pull as a match against Newcastle United. The reality, though, is that Sunderland and Newcastle are currently in different divisions, and the FA Cup game between the two sides in January was a non-event in terms of competitiveness.

As a result, when the fixtures came out earlier this summer, the Boro game would have been one of the first matches the Sunderland fans looked out for. It’s the same for Boro. Yes, there are other rivalries, most notably with Leeds. But Sunderland is just up the road and there’ll be plenty of families and offices where loyalties are mixed. In my mind, that makes this a derby game.

DS: Doesn't the annual - and slightly tiresome - debate about whether it's a derby or not prove that it is? As Scott says, from Sunderland's perspective this will obviously never be the derby, but it still has the feel of a derby in the build-up and in the stadium whenever these sides meet.

It's much more than just a normal Championship fixture and losing on Saturday will sting more than any other defeat this season, for both sides.

PREDICTION

SW: I hate doing this because it inevitably feels like I’m sitting on the fence, but I genuinely think there’s every chance it’ll finish as a draw. I think there’ll be goals – both sides have looked better going forward than at the back in their last few games and because of the nature of the fixture, they’ll both be looking to get on the front foot. It’ll be exciting, whatever happens – I’ll go 2-2.

DS: I'm taking a seat next to Scott on the fence. I can't see this being anything other than entertaining and end-to-end. Providing there are no red cards, I don't think there'll be a comfortable winner like there has been on the last two occasions these sides have met at the Stadium of Light. One team might nick it but I'll go 1-1.