Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is confident his players will be out to erase the 5-1 mauling by their bitter Newcastle rivals at St James' Park last October. The Black Cats, their manager and their fans all suffered badly from that humiliating defeat and Bruce is looking for further points as he bids for a place in Europe.
Bruce said: "It has been a long, long three months waiting for it. As soon as the game finished, the one thing you do is look for when they are at our place and how can we restore a bit of pride?
"We have had a great response, which has got us where we are in the league.
"As far as I am concerned, it's never going to be just another game, but we have to treat it as a chance to get another three points on the table and cement the place we are in at the moment.
"It would set us up fantastically for the remainder if we could do it, and our home form over the last 18 months has been particularly good.
"We have waited for three months patiently to try to get our own back if we possibly can.
"It's upon us - let's hope we can go and perform on the day, and I am very, very confident that we will."