Game On! Newcastle v Sunderland

Game On at St James' Park The 150th competitive Tyne-Wear derby is upon us which means that once again bragging rights are up for grabs.

Those rights have been firmly held on Wearside after back-to-back defeats against the Mackems who go looking for a third successive victory over us for the first time in 91 years.

Yet another miserable transfer window will do nothing to lift the pressure on Alan Pardew. His derby results have been poor since that 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light so he needs a result on that basis, but he also needs one to quell the anger that is rising regarding a lack of transfer activity. I'll go into more detail on that front in the next few days but at this moment this game is the most important thing and should be the focus of everyone connected to either club.

News of injuries and suspensions for both sides, some stats and facts and a background of the fixture can all be found in the match preview for this game which you can view here if you haven't already done so. For full team news please see the bottom of this article roughly one hour prior to kick-off.

The match isn't being shown live here in the UK although it scheduled to be broadcast on a wide range of overseas channels so picking up a stream shouldn't be too difficult for those who aren't in the fortunate position of being inside the ground. If you do find a stream please share it and leave a link in the 'comments' section below.

I haven't got that usual derby feeling if I'm being honest. Not yet anyway although I'm pretty sure it will kick in at some point before kick-off. I can't quite put my finger on why I feel that way, I just do. Maybe a game in midweek along with transfer deadline day (also known simply as Friday in these parts) has kind of ruined the build up?

I guess it doesn't really matter how I feel now, it's what happens on the pitch that is most important. At the moment they are the form team of the two but as has been said and demonstrated so many times previously, form is irrelevant on the day.

Howay the lads!

Newcastle:Krul; Debuchy, Williamson, S.Taylor, Santon; Tiote (c), Sissoko, Anita; Ben Arfa, Shola Ameobi, Sammy Ameobi.

Subs:Elliot, Dummett, Haidara, Yanga-Mbiwa, Marveaux, Armstrong, de Jong

Sunderland:Mannone, Bardsley, Alonso, Brown, O'Shea (c), Bridcutt, Colback, Ki, Johnson, Borini, Altidore

Subs: Larsson, Gardner, Wickham, Giaccherini, Vergini, Scocco, Ustari.