The fortunes of Newcastle and Sunderland have certainly been mixed throughout the Premier League years.

While the Magpies have enjoyed title challenges, Champions League football; they have also had the indignity of dropping out of the Premier League back in 2009 much to the amusement of their local rivals. The Mackems themselves are no strangers to relegation and have been something of a yoyo club throughout the Premier League years; however you do sense that times are changing at the Stadium of Light and Steve Bruce is building a strong squad that is more than capable of holding its own among the upper echelons of the league.

This lunchtime sees the first Tyne & Wear derby of the season, and while the pundits and media will be focusing on whether Sunderland can overcome Newcastle on their own doorstep, we will focus on the major battle set to take place in the player’s lounge at the Stadium of Light.

In the first part of our new series of ‘Wag War’ we look ahead to the likely battle at the Stadium of Light today and ask you the viewer to decide which team wins this epic battle.

Let the battle commence: click on the badge below to see the line-up and cast your vote at the end:

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