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Michael Beale: Sunderland boss says derbies 'hugely important' for English football

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Sunderland head coach Michael Beale says derbies are "hugely important" to English football and believes his team "can hurt" Newcastle in Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie.

The Black Cats will host the Magpies this weekend for the first Tyne-Wear derby since 2016.

Sunderland are on a nine-match unbeaten run against Newcastle, winning six, and Beale is keen to continue that streak.

"When it's derby day you want to win," he said.

Former Rangers and QPR boss Beale told BBC Radio Newcastle: "Derbies are hugely important to the game, certainly the domestic game. When we are talking about the [European] Super League and things like that, the fear that we have as followers of the sport is that we're washing down the derbies.