Sunderland face Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has claimed that he is “not concerned” heading into this weekend’s Tyne-Wear Derby against Newcastle United, even in spite of the Black Cats’ recent dip in form and their list of injury doubts.

Regis Le Bris’ men won their first encounter with their bitter rivals earlier this season, beating the Magpies 1-0 at the Stadium of Light courtesy of a Nick Woltemade own goal. Since that result in December, however, Sunderland have struggled to maintain their best form, winning just three of 14 Premier League matches and suffering a shock FA Cup fifth round exit at the hands of League One outfit Port Vale.

To compound matters further, Le Bris has been without a number of key first team talents of late, with injuries piling up on Wearside. The likes of Nordi Mukiele, Reinildo Mandava, and Robin Roefs are all doubts for the derby at the time of writing, while Dennis Cirkin and Brian Brobbey only returned to Sunderland’s match day squad for Saturday’s clash with Brighton and Hove Albion. Talismanic defender Dan Ballard was also taken off early during that contest due to a potential fitness concern, while Enzo Le Fée, Nilson Angulo, and Bertrand Traore missed out as well.

What has Kevin Phillips said about Sunderland’s derby clash vs Newcastle United?

But despite their difficulties of late, Phillips insists that his former club should not be worried as they prepare for a local showdown in which anything can happen on the day. Speaking exclusively to The Echo, courtesy of BestBettingSites, he said: “I think sometimes when you go into a derby, form pretty much goes out the window from my experience.

“But you certainly would like to go into it with a bit of form and the strongest possible squad that you can have. Unfortunately for Sunderland, they’ve got a couple missing. I was at the training ground yesterday, so I know there are a few that will be back, ready, fit. So hopefully the squad won’t be too far away from everyone being ready to play.

“It’s a testing time. It’s a big game coming up, after the disappointment of the weekend [before last] in the FA Cup. I’m not concerned, but form pretty much goes out the window. So, it’ll be interesting to see how that unfolds.”

What has Regis Le Bris said about his Sunderland squad ahead of Newcastle United meeting?

Speaking in a press conference last Thursday, Le Bris provided a detailed breakdown of his squad’s fitness status. He said: “Brian and Dennis have trained fully this week. They might be available [vs Brighton]. Nordi, Robin, and Rei are in a good place but won’t be available for this fixture. Probably they will train next week, Rei 100%, so it’s more about the Newcastle game for them. They are progressing well.”

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On Bertrand Traore, who is struggling with a knee issue, he continued: “It’s going to be six to eight weeks minimum. We’ll try to conservative reaction then depending on the reaction we’ll see if we need something else.”

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