Newcastle United’s confirmed starting XI to take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Eddie Howe has named two changes to his Newcastle United starting XI for this afternoon’s Tyne-Wear derby clash against Sunderland.

The Magpies have had just three full days to prepare for the visit to the Stadium of Light after drawing 2-2 away to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The meeting on Wearside is the first Premier League derby in nine years, though the two sides met in the FA Cup third round in January 2024 with United running out as comfortable 3-0 winners.

Newcastle United confirmed starting XI v Sunderland

Joelinton was forced to withdraw with a groin issue against Leverkusen and is only fit enough to make the bench today with Lewis Miley, who became the club’s youngest Champions League goalscorer with his goal in midweek, coming in for the Brazilian.

The other changes see Anthony Elanga preferred to Harvey Barnes down the right.

Howe revealed Nick Pope had an outside chance of returning against Sunderland but the goalkeeper remained sidelined with a groin injury, which sees Aaron Ramsdale continue in goal.

What Eddie Howe has said about Newcastle United v Sunderland

Previewing the game, Howe said:: “We enjoyed the last one because we performed well and we won. We’ll be ready for the game. We’ve got a challenge now to travel back, get the lads recovered and physically fresh enough to perform at their best.

“This is our first league experience, so I’ll have a better gauge after, but I think it’s probably the most intense derby game there is. The North-East is a hotbed for football, it’s absolutely obsessed by the game. This is an intense rivalry, one that we respect and my main focus now is to make sure the players understand the importance of the game. I can assure everybody they will. Then they’ve got to enter the pitch and give their best.

“No chance [taking a draw]. We prepare every game to win. This will be no different. We’ve got to get the preparation right in a very short period of time. That’s been a challenge we’ve had all season, and I think we’re doing okay at this moment in time. We know we can improve, there’s areas to get better in and we’ve got minimal training time to get those tweaks adjusted. But by kick-off, I can assure everybody that we’ll be ready.”