Newcastle and Sunderland will have plenty at stake when the two bitter rivals battle it out in the Tyne-Wear Derby in the English Premier League Sunday.
The Magpies are slowly but surely pulling away from the relegation zone and currently sit in 13th on 36 points from 32 matches. Sunderland, though, are 17th, level on points with third bottom Wigan, who have a game in hand.
New manager Paolo Di Canio knows the importance of the game, both in terms of local rivalry and the bigger picture of the Premier League, and is confident of his side putting up a brilliant performance against Newcastle at St James' Park.
"In my past, when I was young, I was a very fanatical fan," he said. "We had the Roman derby. Here it is probably tougher because there are two different cities, very close, and it helps you feel the situation more.
"Sometimes managers say this game delivers only three points, but we have to be honest. Of course, this game counts for three points but is even more important in terms of dignity, honour and respect.
"This game counts for a thousand. We have to feel a responsibility. We want to make our fans proud. We want to win there because it would be fantastic to see our fans celebrating."
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is backing the returning Hatem Ben Arfa to make an impact against Sunderland.
"He's an X factor player, there's no doubt about that," Pardew said. "He won't start tomorrow (Sunday), he's not ready to start, but any impact at any time he's there and any time after half time I'll be looking at him.
"He seems to have come through yesterday with no ill effects. He's not that stiff, which we thought maybe he would be because it was a little bit longer than we planned for him to play.
"But he certainly lifted the crowd and lifted the team. He's got fantastic ability and we're very lucky to have him."
To watch Newcastle vs Sunderland Live Stream for U.S. viewers, click here.
For viewers in the U.K., you can click here.
Expected lineups: Newcastle: Krul; Debuchy, Taylor, Yanga-Mbiwa, Haidara; Tiote, Cabaye; Gouffran, Sissoko, Guttierez; Cisse.
Sunderland: Mignolet; Bardsley, O'Shea, Kilgallon, Rose; N'Diaye, Colback; Larsson, Sessegnon; Johnson; Wickham.
Prediction: 2-2