"Are you ready for the 151st Tyne Wear derby?" shouts the stadium announcer.

I'm pretty sure they are, but just to make sure he follows up his questions with a call-and-response of "Toon, Toon, Toon".

Jack Colback gets a cheeky wink from Lee Cattermole as the two teams shake hands and the Newcastle midfielder's name gets the biggest cheer when read out over the tannoy.

Sebastian Coates is in animated discussion with Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon. The on-loan Liverpool defender has been called into the starting XI to replace Anthony Reveillere, who was injured in the warm-up.

The teams are in the tunnel.

MOTD2

Image source, Getty Images

This one's for the eagle-eyed amongst you. Today we are asking for your contributions to the 2 Good 2 Bad segment on Match of the Day 2. If you happen to spot any comedy gold you can share it using #2good2bad, external on Twitter - and please make sure to include a time for your moment of hilarity.

You can watch the best contributions on tonight's programme from 22:20 GMT on BBC One in England and Wales, 22:40 in Northern Ireland, and 23:25 for viewers in Scotland.

Steve Harper
Hull City goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 live

"It does cause chaos [losing a player before kick-off]. Set-pieces wise it will be an issue as they will have different setups for corners and free-kicks. They will have some re-organising to do. As a player you will have gone through the game a million times in your head so the last thing you need is for your job to change just before kick-off."

You can listen to live commentary online as well as on the wireless. Click on the live coverage tab at the top of this page.

Image source, PA

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet: "I would like to say it's about three points, but for the whole two cities this is the biggest game of the season.

"We need to show our supporters that we do really care. We have won the last three - the first one under Paolo Di Canio, it was the end of the season and we needed the points and then in my first one the situation was is similar. The second one we remember better, we were calm and performed well. I'm sure today will be different.

"It's strange to see Colback in black and white. I wish him the best - but not today. But he's a great lad. Steven Fletcher had a knock and he has recovered and he's desperate to play this fixture."

Mark, Redcar: As a teacher, I've seen 100's of young boys sacrificing so much to be part of PL club academies only to be discarded so brutally when they were no longer useful to the club. SAFC must recognise what Colback did was simply a tiny fleck of payback for all those young boys.

Does loyalty cut both ways? Is Colback within his rights to leave on a free to Sunderland's local rivals?

Get in touch using #bbcfootball, external on Twitter, text us on 81111 (UK only), or post a comment on the BBC Sport Facebook, external or Google+ page., external

Hartlepool have rejected the chance to sign convicted rapist Ched Evans.

Evans, 25, was released in October after serving half of a five-year sentence for the rape of a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room in 2011.

Hartlepool manager Ronnie Moore had said he was considering signing the former Sheffield United striker.

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Anthony Rhodes: Barton Rovers vs Dunstable Town... Always a feisty one!

Jack Jeffree: Hereford vs Cheltenham was probably my favourite derby day ever. Winning it in extra time to set up Everton at home.

Nickoluoch: Gor Mahian vrs AFC Leopards has to be the biggest derby in Africa. Two with most wins in the Kenyan league

Get in touch via #getinspired, external or 81111 on text.

Martin Keown
Former Arsenal defender on MOTD2 Extra

"There is a sharpness to top strikers at international level. If you are not able to match that as a defender you will get done. Charlie Austin is growing and enjoying the ride. I think you have to look at a different tool in the box and I think Andy Carroll offers England that. He looks fitter. And Harry Kane is an interesting player. There are opportunities for some of these players."

Former Wales international Robbie Savage
MOTD2 Extra

"Charlie Austin has done exceptionally well. Stepping up from where he has come from to score goals in the Premier League is a very tough thing to do. All credit to him. International football is becoming more like Premier League football. The style of playing on the counter attack, scoring goals on the break, and Austin's movement is fantastic."

There is going to have to be a change to Sunderland starting line-up. French right-back Anthony Reveillere has just limped out of the warm-up and it will take more than heat spray and the magic sponge to get him right.

Sebastian Coates looks the likeliest to get promoted from the bench.

Jack Colback is one of five local lads in the Newcastle starting line-up today, alongside Paul Dummett, Steven Taylor, Sammy Ameobi and Jak Alnwick.

After failing to beat Sunderland in their last five league meetings with a side with a French accent, Alan Pardew has gone for a local twang.

Image source, Sunderland

Sunderland: , externalSunderland in red and white this afternoon, with white shorts

Image source, Getty Images

Inside the stadium, the man of the moment, Jack Colback is out and warming up...

Image source, Getty Images

There is even a round of applause planned by the Newcastle fans in the 17th minute of today's match to express their thanks for their Sunderland counterparts help in the wake of John Alder and Liam Sweeney's deaths.

Having said all that, the atmosphere around St James' Park this afternoon looks pretty lively as the two sets of fans arrive ahead of kick-off.

Image source, Getty Images

This Tyne-Wear derby should be surrounded by a very different atmosphere from the one that spawned violence back in 2013.

Following the death of two Newcastle United fans - John Alder and Liam Sweeney - on Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in July, Sunderland fans contributed to fundraising in their memory.

The Football Supporters' Federation have built on that sad occasion and the Black Cats' fine response by staging meetings between the two sets of supporters. They have also launched a slogan - "A Derby to be Proud Of" - while the police plan a lower-key approach to the match., external

This sight will send a shudder through any Newcastle fan.

Image source, Getty Images

Not only was Sunderland's 3-0 win at St James' Park last season emphatic, it was their second win by the score line at the stadium in as many years.

The Black Cats have not tasted derby-day defeat in five league outings.

Martin Keown
former Arsenal on MOTD2 Extra

"If you are losing games you have to be intelligent and make an adjustment. Last year they did a double dip and got themselves out of trouble and then, because of the League Cup and the extra fixtures, they fell back into it. I don't know how in love Gus is with his players. Some of them are in and out. It is not really lifting off for him at Sunderland and it needs to if he is to stay in a job."