Sunderland v Newcastle United on Sunday and some very interesting facts

It is Sunderland v Newcastle up next.

A 2pm kick-off on Sunday for this match.

Heading towards the derby, I thought I would search out some interesting facts.

Facts that tell us much about the background to this Sunderland v Newcastle United match.

So here you go…

Interesting Sunderland v Newcastle United facts:

It is more than a decade since Sunderland defeated Newcastle United.

It is only 23 months since United beat the mackems in a derby game.

Since Sunderland last won a derby against Newcastle United in October 2025, the mackems have appointed 11 (not including caretaker ones) managers – Allardyce, Moyes, Grayson, Coleman, Ross, Parkinson, Johnson, Neil, Mowbray, Beale, Le Bris.

This is the first season in the club’s entire history that Sunderland have ever sold out of season tickets.

Of the 22 players who started in the last derby match Sunderland won against Newcastle United, not one of them is still with the club they played for back then.

When Newcastle United were last promoted, Mike Ashley limited the summer transfer spend to less than £40m.

When Sunderland got promoted earlier this year, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus financed spending in the summer of over £160m, the most that any club promoted to the Premier League has ever spent.

Newcastle United are looking forward to a Carabao Cup quarter-final for a fourth season in a row.

Sunderland were humiliated at home when losing to League One club Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup, back in August.

The last derby match saw Sunderland throw their own fans out and hand Newcastle United fans the Black Cats bar, bizarrely allowing it to be redecorated black and white by the away club and humiliate the Sunderland supporters.

Sunderland are the only one of the two clubs to have dropped into the third tier, twice!

Sunderland fans have to travel to Newcastle if they want to take a holiday flight, if they want to enjoy decent bars and restaurants, if they want…

It is over 52 years since Sunderland last won a trophy (the Dial a Pizza Checkatrade trophy does not count, a competition Newcastle United have never been low enough to have to compete in, apart from our Under 21s playing in it, including against the Sunderland first team).

It is less than nine months since Newcastle United last won a major trophy.

Sunderland have won major silverware in only two competitions in their entire history, FA Cup and League. Newcastle United have won trophies in four major competitions, all three domestic ones (League, FA Cup, League Cup, Fairs Cup).

Speaking of Europe, in their entire history Sunderland have only played four games in European competitions. Against Barcelona in the Champions League, Newcastle United have played Barca six times.

Sunderland have played one season in Europe, Newcastle United 18 seasons.