Newcastle's 2015-16 Season: Our Predictions Ahead Of The Campaign

12. How Will Newcastle Fare In The Derbies? (The Run Has To End Sometime Soon... Surely...)

Whisper it quietly, because no Newcastle United supporter actually needs reminding that the Magpies have failed to win any of the last seven Tyne-Wear derbies - or most notably that Sunderland have claimed victory in each and every one of the past five. So do we expect anything to change this time around? After all, the Toon faithful are crying out for a reverse in derby fortunes... Chris' Prediction: An Away Draw And A Home Win By the time the Magpies meet Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on October 25th, we'll have a lot more of an idea of where Newcastle are under Steve McClaren. It's all psychological as far as Newcastle and the derbies are concerned and hopefully a change of manager will help to alter that mentality. I expect a 1-1 draw on Wearside, before the Magpies end an eight-game winless run in the Tyne-Wear derby with a 3-1 victory over Sunderland in March. Ross' Prediction: An Away Loss And A Home Draw Newcastle will be far more up for the fight and a lot less afraid to lose - but the Magpies will of course still go down to a solitary late Adam Johnson goal at the Stadium of Light in a 1-0 defeat. They will, however, manage to snatch a point in the return game - a cracking 2-2 draw.Matt's Prediction: An Away Loss And A Home Win Derbies seem to be impossible to evaluate now. For the past four games I've been confident that Newcastle have had the better squad but it doesn't seem to matter. Not even John Carver, a man who drinks from the River Tyne, could motivate his Newcastle side to grab three points against a very poor Sunderland side. Both teams have signed well this summer. I predict they'll both win one on their home soil - Sunderland 2-1 in October, Newcastle 1-0 in March.
Contributor
Contributor

NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.