On January 7th 2023, Eddie Howe suffered one of his most humiliating defeats as Newcastle United manager. Almost one year to the day, he could suffer the worst of his career.
That is the size of the task at hand on Saturday when Newcastle United travel to Sunderland for a Tyne-Wear derby at the Stadium Of Light in the FA Cup.
Fate has drawn these two rivals together, as Newcastle prepare to face Sunderland for the first time since 2016. It will be Eddie Howe‘s first taste of a derby, while not many of his players will have experienced the ferocity of taking on the Black Cats. Jamaal Lascelles and Paul Dummett are the only two current Toon players who have featured in a derby.
It is an absolutely seismic game for the Magpies, at a time when they are massively struggling. It has been a really difficult period for Howe, who has seen his side crash out of the Champions League and Carabao Cup before slumping down to ninth in the Premier League.
Now he has got a derby date with Sunderland to deal with, and there is simply no way that he can make the same mistake as last season.
Eddie Howe rotated in the FA Cup last season
For the second season in a row, Newcastle are taking on lower league opposition away from home in the third round of the FA Cup.
Last season it was League One Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, which looked like a routine match for the Magpies and a chance to give some of his fringe players minutes.
He certainly did that, but it did not result in victory. Sven Botman, Joelinton and Sean Longstaff were the only regulars to start, while it also saw Alexander Isak return from injury.
Howe made eight changes, with a lot of squad players being given a chance. The likes of Jamaal Lascelles, who had mainly been a substitute unlike this season, and Jamal Lewis started in defence, while Matt Ritchie joined Isak in attack.
It was a game that Newcastle should have won, but they didn’t. The Magpies had no fluidity after making so many changes, with Sheffield Wednesday dumping the then Champions League hopefuls out of the FA Cup.
Newcastle have to be at full strength against Sunderland
In hindsight, Eddie Howe may believe he made too many changes, but he was dealing with fixture congestion and perhaps made the decision not to prioritise the FA Cup.
But that can’t happen this year. Not only is the FA Cup our only hope of silverware now, but the opponent is our biggest rival.
The derby has been a miserable experience for a long time, with the Magpies last tasting victory over Sunderland in 2011. On that day, Ryan Taylor scored a free-kick that has earned him cult hero status on Tyneside.
Howe needs one of his players to create their own legacy this weekend, but he has to put out his strongest team. I have no doubt he will do that, as the schedule has died down and he will recognise the enormity of this fixture.
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