Sunderland v Newcastle Tips | 5th April 2015 | Sky Sports 1

ALWAYS one of the fiercest derbies out there. Can Sunderland aid their survival hopes at the Stadium Of Light? Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) looks at the odds.

Sunderland v Newcastle | Sunday 16:00 | Sky Sports 1

I hate football clichés. They're spouted by people who find it hard to construct their own original views. There are many people like that in the football media. But I'll churn out a cliché here – the form book should be thrown out the window for this game.

I always feel that rings true in these kind of intense matches and the fact Sunderland have won the last four of them adds some credence to that. As a betting heat, this is not for me. But, hey you may as well read my stuff eh?

The home side are the unknown quantity here. Dick Advocaat has come in and been involved in just one match so far, an away loss to West Ham. We'll build a much stronger picture of him after this match on Sunday.

I just can't back Newcastle at the moment. At 17/8 best price they make no appeal. The fact I backed them to go down at 33/1 in February tells you where I am with the club. If I was a Magpies fan I'd want the season to end now and start again in August. Two wins in 12 since Pardew left says it all.

Sunderland are a mess though. No wins in eight, five of those defeats, they're deep in the relegation mire. Hey, but it was a similar story when they won the reverse fixture in December. Going into that game they were winless in six. See what I mean about the form book cliché?

If you were looking at this game logically then you'd back Under 2.5 Goals. Sunderland have scored just one goal in their last seven matches, while Newcastle have fired blanks in three of their last five games.

I'm not going to be logical though. I'm going to back Sunderland at 13/8 with William Hill. The Black Cats have thrived on the intensity of this match recently, they have a new regime in charge and their opponents have very little to play for – bar regional pride.

Chuck the form book out of the window and back Sunderland with me.