Newcastle wait on Sunderland decision ahead of Checkatrade Trophy derby

Ben Dawson’s Under-21 side will take on the League One club on January 8.

Newcastle beat Macclesfield Town on penalties at St James’s Park earlier this month to book a place in the last 16 of the competition.

United quickly sold out their initial allocation of 2,800 tickets for the fixture, which is the first derby involving a senior team since the last Premier League meeting between the two clubs at St James’s Park in March 2016.

Newcastle requested more tickets from Sunderland, who must field their first team in the competition.

Competition rules state that away fans should be allocated at least 10% of a stadium’s capacity, which works out at just under 5,000 for the Stadium of Light.

However, Sunderland executive director Charlie Methven said earlier this month that he felt that that number would be “too high”.

“The rules of the competition are that the away team gets 10% of the stadium capacity,” said Methven. “In our case, that’s just under 50,000, which would mean more or less getting 5,000 tickets, and Newcastle have asked us for that allocation. I think our view, and the view of our internal security team, is that’s maybe a bit high.”

There was trouble at a reserve derby between Newcastle and Sunderland at the Stadium of Light last season.

A number of seats were damaged by visiting supporters during the Premier League International Cup quarter-final, which was won by United after a penalty shootout.