Sunderland got Newcastle manager sacked with derby win and could put Eddie Howe under more pressure

Newcastle and Sunderland go toe-to-toe on Saturday for the first time since 2016.

The Tyne and Wear derby is always an important one, but for Eddie Howe it could be make or break time.

Howe is under pressure at Newcastle following Champions League and Carabao Cup exits, while they have slipped down to ninth — just one point above Chelsea.

There are mitigating factors, however, with the Magpies having to deal with dire injury problems.

It remains to be seen how long the Saudi Public Investment Fund will be willing to stick with Howe if results continue to falter.

A defeat against arch-rivals Sunderland could spell trouble.

Of course, it is not the first time a Newcastle manager has been sacked following a defeat to Sunderland.

Ruud Guillt lost his job at St James’ Park following an early season defeat to the Mackems in the 1999/2000 campaign.

The writing was perhaps on the wall when Gullit decided to leave star striker Alan Shearer on the bench, with the pair having a well-publicised fallout.

Despite an early goal from Kieron Dyer, Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips landed knockout blows for Sunderland in a 2-1 victory at St James’ Park.

It was a triumphant return to the top flight and would ultimately cost Gullit his job.

This sealed a dismal start to that season having taken just one point from their opening five games and the manager was soon sacked.

Shearer later opened up on the incident and how poorly Gullit had handled it.

In an interview reported by the Newcastle Chronicle, he said: “Ruud didn’t like senior players, but there was one guy he couldn’t get rid of and that was myself.

“He gambled and he left me out against Sunderland, he didn’t tell me he was leaving me out — I had to find out by reading it on the board when we went