Game On! Newcastle v Sunderland - Ryan Taylor starts on the right

Welcome one and all to the 'Game On' article which will take us through every twist and turn of this early kick-off against the inbreeds of Sunderland.

This isn't your regular match. This is the Derby. There are many others like it but this one is ours.

You may recognise (sort of) those lines from the movie 'Full Metal Jacket', but whilst its not outright conventional warfare that will be taking place on the St James' Park pitch this lunchtime there is most definitely a tribal feel to it.

Who will come out on top? Who will take the bragging rights in what is one of the most hotly contested duels in Premier League football between two top-ten sides? Its been a while since that has been applicable, which is maybe why this one feels bigger and somehow more important than recent encounters.

A win for Newcastle would set us up to attack the rest of the season and look towards European qualification while a win for the Mackems will set them dreaming about what they could salvage from this season. This is not a place for pretty football or fancy footwork, instead all that matters is getting those three points!

Anyway that is enough chest thumping. This match needs little build up as it is. Everyone knows what it means to us and them so I need play on the emotion no longer.

Now it's down to the boys in black and white to do the business, but first off we need to find out just which boys in black and white are tasked with getting us a result. To help with that we must consider injuries and team news which you can do with the help of match preview, which you can view by clicking here.

Now it really is 'Game On'. Team news will feature below as and when it becomes available but for now it's time to crank up the noise, increase the fervour and really become the 12th man by roaring our team on to yet another success against the Mackems.

Howay the lads indeed!

Newcastle: Tim Krul, Danny Simpson, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini, Davide Santon, Ryan Taylor, Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye, Jonas Gutierrez, Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse

Subs: Rob Elliot, James Perch, Danny Guthrie, Gabriel Obertan, Hatem Ben Arfa, Peter Lovenkrands, Shola Ameobi

Sunderland: Simon Mignolet, Phil Bardlsey, John O'shea, Michael Turner, Kieran Richardson, Seb Larsson, Lee Cattermole, Craig Gardner, James McLean, Stephane Sessegnon, Nicklas Bendtner

Subs: Craig Gordon, Wayne Bridge, Matt Kilgallon, Jack Colback, David Meyler, David Vaughan, Frazier Campbell