‘I think it’s still very early, but a lot of people would’ve changed their opinion already: anyone going there will find things tough’ Alan Shearer’s surprise assessment of Newcastle United’s arch-rivals Sunderland

There has been no love lost between Alan Shearer and Sunderland over the years.

The Newcastle United legend has unsurprisingly never been popular with his home-town club’s arch-rivals and fittingly scored his final Magpies goal against the Black Cats in April 2006.

It was a time when the teams met regularly but their clash at the Stadium of Light in December will be the first Tyne-Wear derby in the league since 2016, with Sunderland back in the top flight after eight years away.

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Alan Shearer explains why Sunderland have ‘sent a message’ to Premier League

Sunderland have made a strong start to life back in the Premier League (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Black Cats have settled back into life in the Premier League impressively and sit seventh after five games – six places higher than Newcastle and above fellow promoted clubs Leeds United and Burnley.

Regis Le Bris’ side have been particularly impressive at home, with wins against West Ham and Brentford followed by last Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, while they held Crystal Palace 0-0 on the road after a defeat at Burnley.

Alan Shearer’s final goal for Newcastle came against arch-rivals Sunderland (Image credit: Getty Images)

And Sunderland’s form has even won praise from Shearer – who is ranked at no.4 in FourFourTwo’s list of the greatest Premier League players of all time – with the former striker telling Betfair: “At home Sunderland are unbeaten and when you look at the three promoted teams, they’ve made a right good start.

“When you compare it to last season, where teams have struggled and it’s been a long time since teams have got the first win, whereas Burnley, Leeds got a great result against Wolves and Sunderland as well, going down to 10 men [against Aston Villa].

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“Sunderland have made a great start to the season, and I think what message that sends out is that anyone going to those three teams will find things tough.

“I think it’s still very early, but a lot of people would’ve changed their opinion already and say that Sunderland can stay up – because of their home form, they’ve a really good chance of staying up.

Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris has guided his side to seventh in the fledgling league table (Image credit: Getty Images)

“The home form was always going to be key to any of the promoted teams. Sunderland will be absolutely delighted with the start they’ve made.”

The Black Cats host the Magpies on Saturday, December 13, with the return fixture at St James’ Park currently scheduled for Saturday, March 21.

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