Sunderland Under-23s contest the Wear-Tyne derby at the Stadium of Light on Monday night (KO 7pm), taking on Newcastle United in the Premier League 2.
The young Lads are unbeaten in their last two U23 matches with Newcastle, earning a 1-1 draw at home back in March last season, following a thunderous 4-0 rout on Tyneside last October – Benji Kimpioka grabbing a brace as Josh Hawkes and Cieran Dunne also netted.
An encouraging crowd is expected at the SoL for the derby, which sees Elliott Dickman’s side look to move further up the table. The Lads will hope to earn momentum from not only an excellent 2-1 Premier League Cup win over Leeds United, but the two recent Papa John’s Trophy victories in which many U23 regulars starred and made a real impact in Lee Johnson’s first team.
Several players who recently impressed for the senior team should return for the contest on Wearside, with no first-team cup action being played this week. Will Harris’ cameo at Gillingham saw the striker make his league debut, and he could spearhead the attack with Stephen Wearne and Harrison Sohna also earning plaudits.
Jacob Carney, Ollie Younger and Tyrese Dyce could all return after their first-team exploits, with Arbenit Xhemajli working his way back to full fitness and featuring in the Leeds match last weekend.
Winning both of their last two matches and scoring eight times in the process, Newcastle have hit a positive vein of attacking form. Their recent turnaround in fortunes with victories over Middlesbrough and Birmingham City came at a much-needed time, having previously endured a run of four successive defeats in all competitions. The Magpies sit seventh in the PL2 Division 2 table, having taken 10 points from seven games.
Tickets remain available to support Dickman’s Lads for Monday night’s Wear-Tyne derby by clicking here.