The Magpies meet the Black Cats in the Checkatrade Trophy in January and the former seemed to enjoy pointing out which league their rivals are in.
We’ve already had one big derby in the Checkatrade Trophy and now we’re set for another one in the last 16 of the competition.
In the previous round, Port Vale claimed a 4-0 win against Stoke City’s Under-21s in a rare Potteries derby meeting that also saw five pre-match arrests for disorder (BBC Radio Stoke).
Now, Sunderland will host the Newcastle United Under-21s at the Stadium of Light during the week beginning 7 January for a place in the quarter-finals, it has been confirmed.
The Black Cats and the Magpies regularly contested the Tyne-Wear derby in the Premier League in previous years, save for the odd season when either team would have a short stint in the Championship.
However, a competitive derby has not taken place for more than two years – indeed, this will be the first such meeting between the two clubs since a 1-1 Premier League draw in March 2016 (11v11).
Newcastle’s reserves have already claimed a 5-0 win over Sunderland’s second string this season, while last term, they knocked the Black Cats out of the Premier League International Cup.
As the draw was made, the Tyneside club’s official Twitter account made a point of saying the tie was against “League One Sunderland”, which some may interpret as a sly dig at their bitter rivals, perhaps.
Quite a few Newcastle fans thought so too and some took to Twitter to commend the social media admin and have a laugh at their neighbours:
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