Newcastle United and Sunderland are two of English football's biggest rivals.
The Tyne-Wear derby had been on hiatus for a number of years following Sunderland's fall from the Premier League to League One but was renewed with a bang in December, with the Black Cats edging a tense affair.
A Nick Woltemade own goal saw Sunderland win 1-0, sparking delirium in the stands, and provoking a cheeky dig back at their rivals at full time.
Many noses were put out of joint when Newcastle posed for a team photo at the Stadium of Light when beating the Black Cats in the FA Cup in 2024, but Sunderland got their revenge in the Premier League the following season, and opted to pose for a similar photo at full time.
Newcastle's win in the FA Cup ended a long winless run against their arch rivals, but their wait for a win in the Premier League goes on. Newcastle looked like breaking their duck after Anthony Gordon's early goal when the sides met in March, only for Chemsdine Talbi to draw level before Brian Brobbey's dramatic winner.
Of their last 11 meetings in the top flight, Sunderland have won eight and and drawn three. You have to go all the way back to 20th August 2011 when Newcastle beat Sunderland in the Premier League, and 31st October 2010 for the last time they won at St James' Park.
From then, Newcastle went on a wretched run against Sunderland, famously losing six in a row, conceding 16 goals and scoring just one in that time.
Sunderland's eight-year absence from the Premier League means the last time Newcastle avoided defeat to their neighbours was in the 2015/16 season, when Aleksandr Mitrovic's late equaliser secured a point at St James' Park on 20th March. Sunderland would have the last laugh, though, pulling off a great escape to finish two points above the Magpies, condemning them to relegation.
