Eddie Howe must rally the troops after the crushing Champions League defeat on Wednesday night, as Sunderland will be in no mood to show mercy to Newcastle United this Sunday.
Games don’t come much bigger than the derby, so Newcastle can’t afford to feel sorry for themselves following their capitulation in Barcelona on Wednesday night.
Indeed, our feeling is that Sunderland is the best opponent we could face following such a tough night, as with the derby comes an intense focus and determination that transcends form.
By their very nature, derby games are hard to predict. I mean, who expected Sunderland to win the last one and via a Nick Woltemade goal no less?
Chris Sutton has taken a punt on a score prediction for BBC Sport and in doing so, has given his two pence worth on the security of Eddie Howe’s position after that 7-2 mauling in Barcelona.
The former Blackburn and Celtic striker accepts that the ‘wheels came off’, putting Howe under pressure to end the Premier League season well to silence his doubters.
However, Sutton, like us, feels certain that his job is safe, and backs him to strengthen that position with a 2-0 win over Sunderland.
“I was at Nou Camp on Wednesday and although the wheels came off spectacularly in the second half, the story of the tie is that for one-and-a-half legs, Newcastle competed really well against Barcelona.
“Even so, that defeat leaves Magpies boss Eddie Howe in a similar situation to Liam Rosenior at Chelsea, where it is important that he is has a strong end to the Premier League season to silence all his doubters. I still think we have seen enough from Newcastle over the course of this campaign for Howe’s job to be safe.
“The glaring thing for me against Barca came after the game, watching their unused substitutes doing their running drills. Two of the subs were their big summer attacking signings, Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade. The fact they had a huge European tie and neither got on the pitch summed up their impact this season.
“So, I have massive sympathy for Howe about that, and how much losing top scorer Alexander Isak last summer has affected his team.
“This is a massive game for Newcastle, because they have got to pick themselves up and go again, against their biggest rivals. If they lose this too, you know people are going to hit Howe with that stick that he is is not the right man to take the club forward.
“They lost at Stadium of Light before Christmas, when Woltemade scored an own goal, so they simply cannot let the Black Cats do the double over them.
“Sunderland’s form has dropped off in the past few weeks and it does look like they are fizzling out, but the question is whether Newcastle can find the energy to see them off. I think they will.
“*Sutton’s prediction: Newcastle 2-0 Sunderland”*
Even if, God forbid, Newcastle fail to win on Sunday, it would be crazy to think that Eddie Howe suddenly ‘has to go’ given some of the miracles he’s performed since he arrived here.
Of course, there will come a time when we can’t keep using history to save his position, but he took us from 19th in the Premier League to two cup finals, a cup win and two Champions League adventures. He did all of that with a squad that is still way off the level of the rivals we’re chasing.
This is all a moot point, though, because we’ve got this in the bag on Sunday!