Sky Sports confirm official Sunderland v Newcastle United change
Three Newcastle United fixtures, including the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland, have been changed.
Newcastle United’s first Premier League derby against Sunderland has been pushed back for a Sky Sports and TNT Sports broadcast.
The fixture, which marks the first top-flight Tyne-Wear derby since 2016, was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 13.
Now it will take place on Sunday, December 14 (2pm kick-off) and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The match at the Stadium of Light will come after Newcastle’s midweek trip to face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
The previous match between Newcastle and Sunderland came in January 2024 as Eddie Howe’s side strolled to a 3-0 victory in the FA Cup.
The last league meeting came back in 2016 as Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a late header to rescue a 1-1 draw for Newcastle at St James’ Park. But the point wasn’t enough to keep Newcastle in the Premier League as they ended up being relegated at the end of that season.
Sunderland were then relegated the following year and spent the best part of a decade outside of the top flight before earning promotion via the Championship play-offs last season.
The Black Cats have got off to a solid start back in the Premier League with 11 points from their opening seven matches leaving them sitting ninth in the table. Meanwhile, Newcastle are two points behind their rivals in 11th.
But the situation is bound to look quite different when the sides eventually meet in December, with eight league games to play before then.
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Three Premier League fixture changes to Newcastle United
In addition to the Sunderland match, Newcastle’s home game against Tottenham Hotspur has been moved from Wednesday, December 3 to Tuesday, December 2 (8:15pm kick-off).
The Magpies’ home game against Chelsea remains on Saturday, December 20 but has been selected for TNT Sports broadcast which kicks-off at 12:30pm opposed to the traditional 3pm slot.
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Eddie Howe on Tyne-Wear derby return
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has been asked about the return of the Tyne-Wear derby as The Magpies look to pick up their first league win against Sunderland since 2011.
When asked about potentially facing Sunderland in the Premier League prior to their promotion, Howe said: “I think I was asked this yesterday and I very much sat on the fence. If the games come, we'll embrace the games.
“But it'll be interesting to see the play-offs. Obviously, I saw a bit of the game and I think the play-offs always add a lot of drama. So let's wait and see.”
Following Sunderland’s return, Howe was then asked the same question.
“Well it will mean a lot when we come to face them,” he said. “There’s a lot of talk, I’ve done interviews already where one of the big topics has been Sunderland.