Alan Shearer: “I think it will be very, very tight.
“All derbies are tight – but we’ve had the upper hand in the last few.
“I think because of Martin’s arrival – and their result last week – it will be a really tight one.
“It’s going to be interesting. But these games are always very important, aren’t they?
“Martin’s done a great job and steadied the ship with some great results.
“Obviously last Saturday was a poor result, but that will only make the game a little bit harder for us.
“I am sure they will want to bounce back.
“Martin will have said one or two words to them this week, so they will be fired up.”
"Playing at St James’ will make it advantage Newcastle, of course it is.
“We have had decent results there in recent years, well for a lot of the last few years.
“We’ve had the upper hand over Sunderland. We all hope that continues, but it is going to be a lot tougher than it has been.
“It’s very rare you go out and score five. I hope we do! But I think it will be a lot tighter.
“It’s a huge game to play in and it’s great for the fans. It’s what you look out for at the football club.
“As soon as the fixture list comes out, it’s always a case of ‘when do we play Sunderland home and away?’
“We are all looking forward to it. Fingers crossed it is the same result as last year.”