Overview
- Kick-off is 12:00 GMT at St James' Park in the first league meeting there since 2016, with coverage on Sky Sports in the UK and NBC/Peacock, JioHotstar and Stan Sport overseas.
- Northumbria Police have asked Sunderland fans arriving by train to reach Newcastle Central by 10:15 for an escort to the ground, warning that later arrivals may wait for a second escort and risk missing kick-off.
- Nexus and rail operators will run a Sunday timetable, trains from Durham and Darlington are cancelled for engineering works with limited replacements, and road closures are planned near the station and stadium.
- Newcastle report multiple absences including Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali, Lewis Miley, Fabian Schär and Emil Krafth, while Sunderland list several injuries and doubts, with final line-ups to be confirmed.
- Newcastle enter the derby days after a 7-2 Champions League loss at Barcelona, and local analysis frames the result as an important test for Eddie Howe against a rival they have not beaten in 10 league derbies.