Newcastle v Sunderland - Live!

Minute-by-minute report: Kevin Keegan pits his wits against Roy Keane as Newcastle attempt to keep their fine run of form going
Team news: Abdoulaye Faye and Nicky Butt have both shaken off injuries to start for Newcastle, but Sunderland have to do without the knacked Jonny Evans and Phil Bardsley in defence. Those two are replaced by Danny Higginbotham, who scored the opener in the reverse fixture in November, and Paul McShane, while Carlos Edwards and Liam Miller have also been brought in to replace former Newcastle striker Michael Chopra and Kieran Richardson respectively.

Newcastle: Harper, Beye, Faye, Taylor, Jose Enrique, Geremi, Butt, Barton, Owen, Viduka, Martins.Subs: Forster, Duff, Smith, Edgar, Carroll.

Sunderland: Gordon, McShane, Nosworthy, Higginbotham, Collins, Edwards, Whitehead, Miller, Reid, Murphy, Jones.Subs: Fulop, Harte, Richardson, Chopra, Leadbitter.

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

Preamble: Hello, and welcome to the most north-easterly of all this afternoon's Premier League derbies. Back in November these two drew 1-1 at the Stadium of Light, but that was before Kevin "King" Keegan arrived to save Newcastle from evil Samuel "Sam" Allardyce and his dastardly one-striker formations. On paper there's not an awful lot riding on this one - neither side is going to get relegated at this stage, even if it is still mathematically possible - but it's a Tyne-Wear derby, so if nothing else we should get some fisticuffs in Sky's Fanzone commentary box.

By Guardian Unlimited © Copyright Guardian Newspapers 2008
Published: 4/20/2008
 
Use the feedback form below to submit your comments.
Your Comments:
Your Name:
Use the form below to email this article to your friends.
Recipient Email Address:
 Separate multiple email addresses by ;
Your Name:
Your Email Address: