Exclusive:Kevin Phillips delivers verdict on outcome of Sunderland derby showdown with 'desperate' Newcastle United
Sunderland face Newcastle United in the Premier League this Sunday.
Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has predicted a draw between his old club and bitter rivals Newcastle United when the two meet at St. James’ Park on Sunday.
The Black Cats will be aiming to do the double over the Magpies, having already beaten them once at the Stadium of Light earlier this season. Recent form has been patchy for Regis Le Bris’ side, however, with just three wins in the Premier League since their victory on Wearside in mid-December.
For their part, Newcastle head into this weekend’s fixture off the back of a 7-2 drubbing at the hands of Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. Prior to that result, Eddie Howe’s men had picked up successive wins in the league, and currently sit two points clear of Sunderland in the table.
What has Kevin Phillips said ahead of Newcastle United vs Sunderland?
And taking all of that into account, Phillips is anticipating a tight affair on Tyneside this weekend. Speaking exclusively to The Echo, courtesy of BestBettingSites, he said: “Newcastle have obviously had a tough game against Barcelona, so they’ve got a bit of travelling to do, but they are in decent form. They’ve got good players, and it will be a tough game. It’s always a tough match. It’s always a tough place to go to St James’ in a derby.
“They’ll be desperate to obviously get the result after losing at the Stadium of Light. The way they performed, they’ll want payback. So it’ll be a tough game. Nevertheless, Sunderland have stood up to most teams in the league this season, away from home and at home. So I think it’ll be a tight, tight game. I think I’m going to go for a draw. I see it as both teams scoring, so I’m going to go for a 1-1. I think it’ll be a very, very tight game. I think I’m going to go for a draw. I see it as both teams scoring, so I’m going to go for a 1-1.”
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Earlier this week, Phillips also told Sky Sports that while he believes Sunderland are very probably safe from the threat of relegation this season, he would ideally like to see his former club pick up more points to be absolutely sure of their top flight status.
He said: “I'd like to see them win another game, get to that 43. Because when you look at the teams below, and he mentioned that to me last week, I think they would love another couple of wins just to completely mathematically secure their status.
“But I still think they'll be fine. At the beginning of the season, just finishing, surviving in the Premier League was the ambition. Things went so well, at some stage, like any team, they're going to hit a lull. What an opportunity this weekend to do the double over their arch rivals.”