'Is he ready for that?' - Michael Beale questioned ahead of Sunderland vs Newcastle United

Michael Beale has been questioned by Ashington-born cricket legend (and Newcastle United fan) Steve Harmison ahead of this weekend's derby.

Sunderland will face Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light this weekend in the FA Cup third round with the game now a complete sell-out. The fixture will see the Championship face the Premier League and Eddie Howe face Beale after the former replaced Tony Mowbray in the hot seat late last year.

Beale has experience of local rivalries during his time in Scotland with Rangers, first as assistant to Steven Gerrard and then as a manager in his own right. Despite this, though, Harmison believes it is Howe who has the edge over Beale in this week's face-off between head coaches.

"I think the calmer character would be Eddie Howe. I can't see Eddie Howe losing his emotion," Harmison told the Wise Men Say podcast. "I've seen Michael Beale quite a few times lose it and I'm just thinking, is he ready for that?"

"Because he came out of the coaching world into the number one job. I think from an emotional person, I've seen Eddie Howe after defeats and after wins, when he comes into the press and there's a very, very controlled character and I think that could be the difference leading into the game."

On the game itself, Harmison added: "I don't think six and a half thousand Geordies will let Newcastle sit back. I think they'll be at it straight away. So I think it'd be a great contest. I don't see it being Newcastle in the Premier League, Newcastle being the Champions League, Newcastle winning five or six nil.

"I don't see that derby. How many times you see a derby cancel each other out for large portions of the game? And if they do that, then I think it comes on the quality. And what you mentioned before, that Bruno quality, that Isak quality and that Gordon quality especially, that might be the difference from a Premier League side.

"I think it's going to be a great occasion. I think the game will be closer than what people think it's going to be."