Major decision made over Sunderland v Newcastle United FA Cup fixture

Newcastle United's trip to Sunderland in the FA Cup third round has been selected for live television broadcast.

The Tyne-Wear derby returns for the first time since 2016 as Sunderland host The Magpies at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, January 6. The match will kick-off at 12:45pm and be broadcast live on ITV1, UTV, STV and ITVX.

The match is one of six FA Cup third round selected for live television broadcast between January 4 and January 8. It falls between Newcastle's Premier League fixtures at Liverpool on New Year's Day and at home to Manchester City on January 13.

Newcastle will be looking to win their third FA Cup match under Eddie Howe after losing in the third round to Cambridge United and Sheffield Wednesday in each of the last two seasons. The Magpies have not beaten Sunderland since a 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light in August 2011.

Newcastle's away allocation for the match at the Stadium of Light is yet to be confirmed. A maximum of 7,000 tickets could be made available as per FA Cup rules, but restrictions made by Northumbria Police are likely.

When asked about the FA Cup draw, Magpies boss Eddie Howe said: "I thought someone was winding me up!

"I didn't see the draw so I was relying on other people to tell me. It's a brilliant draw and I think it will be a great game and something to look forward to - but there's a lot of football to be played between now and then."