However, lets start by looking at Sunderland. Steve Bruce's men heading into the fixture on the back of an impressive 1-1 draw at Anfield against a new look Liverpool side. Although as good a result as it was for the Black Cats on Merseyside, you would be hard pressed to find many who would argue that Sunderland weren't fortunate to be 3 or 4 goals behind by Half Time.
Sunderland adopted a 4-5-1 formation against Liverpool as shown below:
The formation failed to create the desired effect in the first half of the game against Liverpool as Sunderland were overrun on the counter attack and Liverpool bossed the midfield. However, the Black Cats turned the game around in the second half and snatched a draw after Sebastian Larsson brilliantly volleyed home Ahmed Elmohamady's searching ball into the box. The result also owed much to the composed performances of central defender Wes Brown and holding midfielder Jack Colback, which helped stem a Liverpool attack that had been rampant in the first half.
Sunderland weren't the only ones showing defensive fortitude last weekend, as Newcastle comfortably held firm against Arsenal side that appeared largely devoid of ideas minus the outgoing Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Alan Pardew opted for a straight 4-4-2 for his side's opening game of the season. The formation is once again shown below:
Despite Pardew having to deploy Ryan Taylor at left back for reasons I'm too annoyed about to go into, Newcastle were able to handle the threats posed by Gervinho, Andrey Arshavin, Theo Walcott and Robin Van Persie with relative ease. Aside from the Joey Barton-Gervinho episode, the game passed without real incident, which given Arsenal's dominance of possession was an indictment of the Gunners attacking play as well as a testament to the solidity of Newcastle's defence. Both centre-backs Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor put in fantastic displays, while Cheick Tiote did a solid job in covering for both full-backs when Arsenal counter attacked.
So two very solid results on the opening day for both sides, but what changes should the sides make as they look to try and secure derby day glory. Well in the case of Sunderland I would certainly expect that 4-5-1 to become a 4-2-3-1 with Colback and Cattermole playing the two holding roles, Stephane Sessegnon playing in behind the main striker with Larsson and Elmohamday on either flank.
The main striker may be the main problem in that equation for Sunderland, Asamoah Gyan is short of fitness and was subbed after 66 minutes for new signing Ji Dong-Won. Dong-Won is naturally lacking Premier League experience as is starlet Conor Whickham, who despite his clear talent and the hype surrounding him, may take a while to adjust to the Premier League. On the other hand, the heated atmosphere of a local derby maybe the perfect environment for a young star like Whickham to announce himself on the big stage.
Newcastle also have a dilemma to resolve up front. Yes, they gained a positive result against Arsenal but there was an evident lack of sting in attack and new signing Demba Ba lacked the service needed to try and begin to replicate his 1 in 2 record at West Ham. An injection of pace was the most obvious element absent from the Newcastle attack, Gabriel Obertan helped rectify this when he came on for Ba at Half Time and while Brown and Titus Bramble are an effective centre-back pairing, they are far from the fastest. Therefore it would be worth Pardew considering giving the former Man Utd man a starting spot in order to try and get in behind the Sunderland defence.
Sylvain Marveaux, another of Newcastle's French contingent signed from Stade Rennais may also be another option after the winger played a full 90 minutes in a game for United's reserve team.
So both teams have selection issues to address, but where will the game be won and lost, well in my mind there are two battles that will be absolutely vital, and both concern the left back position. The two sides are currently operating with makeshift left backs, for Sunderland Kieran Richardson, who has taken to the position well in recent times after moving there from the wings, and for Newcastle Ryan Taylor, the utility man who did an ok job against Arsenal last week, but is predominantly a right sided player.
The two managers will surely look to exploit these possible areas of weakness, but, should he start it is arguably Taylor who faces the bigger challenge against Elmohamady, the Egyptian possesses slightly more pace than Joey Barton who will most likely occupy Newcastle's right wing spot. However, Richardson could have a lot more to deal with if Pardew decides to throw Obertan and Marveaux into the mix as the game progresses. Whichever left-back does the better job will, in my opinion give his side the best chance to win.
I anticipate that both sides will stick rather than twist and opt for the similar if not the same lineups that they used the previous weekend. Alan Pardew has already said that Shola Ameobi will start up front for Newcastle, the veteran frontman has an outstanding record against Sunderland and will look to continue his good form against them on Saturday. The question is whether he will be partnered by Ba or left to play up front as the lone striker with Obertan playing in behind.
Sunderland have the home advantage and if an early goal comes I suspect it will be from them, both teams will be tight at the back however, and in my mind this will be a low scoring affair. The pressure is on Alan Pardew with fan discontent over the club's transfer business growing with each day, so I think Newcastle will be happy to leave the Stadium of Light with a typically hard-earned point.
Prediction: 1-1
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