Sunderland captain Luke O'Nien says they'll play their own game today against FA Cup opponents Newcastle.

Sunderland host their Northeast rivals as major outsiders.

But O'Nien says: "We're really excited.

"I've waited for this game since I joined, and I think it's my sixth season now.

"The North East has been due one for a very long time so it's finally here and I'm really looking forward to it. As the gaffer has said, it's a chance for us to go out and fulfil our potential against a Premier League team and a team that has played in the Champions League.

"It's going to be a really good test for us and it's up to us to carry on building on the foundations. There's nothing we have to change, we just have to carry on doing what we have been doing week-in and week-out, doing our research, putting in a gameplan, and executing that."

O'Nien also stated: "If you take the game in isolation it's huge but the work started back on June 26, the day we reported back [for pre-season] when you hope for a draw like this.

"We come out on the training pitch every day and we prepare for games like this. It's really good that we get the chance to test ourselves in a game like this and we want to be playing this sort of opposition week-in and week-out."