Granit Xhaka: Sunderland captain’s dominant record vs Newcastle is good Tyne-Wear derby omen
Granit Xhaka has only ever lost twice to Newcastle United in his career ahead of Sunderland’s visit to St James’ Park on Sunday.
It’s the biggest fixture in North East football this Sunday, as Newcastle host Sunderland for a Tyne-Wear derby clash.
Eddie Howe’s side are entering the game off the back of a crazy Wednesday evening in Barcelona, that saw the Magpies defeated 7-2 on the night and 8-3 on aggregate, as their Champions League hopes were ended by the Catalonians.
Meanwhile, Regis Le Bris‘ boys were beaten 1-0 by Brighton last time out, but will remain confident of extending their 10-league game unbeaten run against their bitter rivals to 11.
Sunderland have the recent bragging rights over Newcastle, having beaten them 1-0 at the Stadium of Light in the reverse fixture, and they also have another clear good omen on their side ahead of Sunday too.
What is Granit Xhaka’s career record vs Newcastle United?
In the eyes of many Sunderland supporters, Xhaka has been the Black Cats’ best player this season.
The 33-year-old Swiss midfielder has undoubtedly been one of the most impactful signings made by any top flight team this term, as he’s skippered the Wearsiders’ midfield in superb fashion.
| Stat | Result |
| Goal contributions | 6 |
| Big chances created | 7 |
| Total duels won | 61% |
| Avg. match rating | 7.27 |
Signed in a deal worth around £17million from Bayer Leverkusen, the former Arsenal man is already well on his way to becoming a cult hero around the Stadium of Light.
His industry, leadership and toughness has seen him instantly and naturally connected with Sunderland fans, and he looks every bit of a player who still has a handful of good years left in him too.
So, he’s going to be key to Sunderland’s chances of getting a result at St James’ Park on Sunday, but thankfully for the Black Cats, he loves playing against Newcastle.
As detailed by Transfermarkt, Xhaka has played against the Toon on 12 separate occasions over the course of his career, winning nine times, drawing once and losing twice respectively.
11 of those have came in the Premier League, where he’s won eight times, and it’s also where his only career goal against Newcastle has arrived, which he scored for Arsenal in the 2018-19 season.
What is Newcastle’s home record like this season?
St James’ Park is notoriously one of the more difficult grounds in the Premier League for travelling sides to get a result from, although Sunderland haven’t received that memo in recent years.
Indeed, the Black Cats haven’t lost in any of their last five visits to Tyneside in the Premier League, and so confidence will be high that this can be extended to six on Sunday.
But just how strong have Howe’s men been on home soil this season? Well, certainly stronger than their performances on the road.
Newcastle have won eight, drawn two and lost five at St James’ this term, as opposed to four wins, four draws and seven defeats away from home.
As such, they’ve taken 10 more points at home than on their travels, and with a significant defeat to Barcelona in the week, the home crowd will be expecting a big response from their side too.
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