Di Canio’s derby record makes tough reading for Sunderland
Published:Passion is something that Paolo Di Canio certainly cannot be criticised for having a lack of, but based on his record in charge of Swindon, it is something that he has struggled to pass on to his players.
Di Canio met chief rivals Oxford on three occasions when in charge of Swindon and lost them all, with one of which taking place in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy earlier this season.
This is not a great track record with Di Canio’s second game in charge of Sunderland coming at St James’ Park against Newcastle.
Especially considered that this will be the fifth occasion that opposite number Alan Pardew will have been in the dugout for this fixture and he has avoided defeat in all four so far.
Taking all of this into consideration, Newcastle look the better bet to secure the bragging rights in the Tyne-Wear derby at 10/11.
A further boost to this bet is that the Toon have won all of their last four in all competitions on their own patch and five of their last six.
One crumb of comfort that Sunderland could take is that three of Pardew’s four derbies have ended all square and given that the Black Cats head into this one on a run of two points out of a possible 24, a draw may not be the worst result.
It is 12/5 that Di Canio’s first Tyne-Wear derby is a draw, with a Sunderland success priced at 3/1.
Meanwhile, Howard Webb has been named as the referee for the clash and Sunderland have won 1-0 on both occasions he has officiated them this season.
A third such outcome is priced at a meaty 10/1 and is arguably more likely with Newcastle having a big Europa League second leg with Benfica taking place just three days before, in which Pardew is expected to name his strongest team.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
