Eddie Howe has been warned what not to do against Sunderland this weekend.
Sunderland are preparing for one of the biggest games in a long time as they host Newcastle United in the FA Cup third round.
The Black Cats haven’t faced their fierce rivals since a 1-1 draw in the Premier League back in March 2016 – the first time they had dropped points against Newcastle in almost four years.
There is both great nerves and excitement around the Wear-Tyne derby, but Sunderland may have been handed a boost by Newcastle’s poor form.
Back when the draw was made in December, the Magpies were over the moon after they had just beaten Chelsea and Manchester United, as well as drawing to PSG in the Champions League.
However, Newcastle have endured a dramatic fall from grace and have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions – while they have won one game on the road since September.
Sunderland will be eager to win the match and Michael Beale will be desperate to prove himself to supporters, but there is a lot less pressure on the Championship outfit.
There has already been suggestions that Eddie Howe’s job could be under pressure if he loses the derby this weekend, so he has to be very careful with how he takes on the challenge.
Former defender Stuart Pearce has now warned Howe what he ‘can’t afford to do’ at the Stadium of Light.
Speaking on talkSPORT (as per Chronicle Live), Pearce claimed that Newcastle ‘can’t afford’ to make too many changes.
He said: “I don’t think he can afford to. “Plus on the back of that they have a week off. Then you can rest players and let them put their feet up, or give them a week off.
“He can’t afford to do something like that on the back of a Sunderland defeat.”
Will the pressure be too much for Newcastle?
After being knocked out of the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, Newcastle United’s trip to Sunderland is arguably the biggest game of their season now.
With Eddie Howe’s job on the line, Sunderland can surely expect to see their strongest line-up visit the Stadium of Light.
However, their strongest available XI definitely isn’t the best they have, with a majority of first-team players on the sidelines.
We can expect the likes of Callum Wilson, Sandro Tonali and Nick Pope all to miss out, but there is no doubting that their weaker side is still miles better than what we are used to competing with in the Championship.
It is a free hit for Sunderland, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want it any less!