Sunderland have only won two out of 14 home north east derbies in the Premier League. However Boro hardly have a sterling record when they travel to their neighbours either. They have only won four out of 19 away north east derbies, but three of those victories have come in the last four trips to the Stadium of Light.

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There weren’t many that predicted such a hefty win for Portsmouth against Everton two weeks ago. Suppose that when faced with a team outside the ‘top four’ Portsmouth can more than hold their own. That said, they haven’t managed to really do that against Middlesbrough in recent times

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While it was last minute joy for Stoke last weekend, at pretty much exactly the same time it was last minute despair for Boro; Mamady Sidibe with the honours for the Potters’ injury time winner against Villa while an ever passionate Steven Gerrard saw Boro concede in the final minute and thus leave Anfield without a bean. And this has been the case for the season so far.

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Ever get the feeling of déjà vu? The dawn of the 2007/08 season brought masses of Tottenham supporters and pundits alike tipping Spurs to really challenge for fourth spot. However, after a woeful start - 1 win in the opening 12 games and a sacked manager after just 10 matches in, these declarations provided nothing more than ammunition for rival fans to mock Spurs’ continued illusions of grandeur. And now, one year on we hear the same claims only this time, after one massive summer shopping spree, they feel all the more possible.

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Arguably the best left-back at Euro 2008 was Russia’s outstanding Yuri Zhirkov this summer. The CSKA Moscow star was in sensational form as the Russians stormed into the semi-finals on the back of a 3-1 win over the Dutch. Despite the loss to Spain a number of ther players have impressed during the tournament though it’s Andrei Arshavin who’s received most of the plaudits and was heavily linked to Stamford Bridge. However, former Head Coach Avram Grant let slip a few weeks ago on Israeli TV that’s it not the Russian Captain Chelsea are targeting but his team-mate Zhirkov.

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Arguably the best left-back at Euro 2008 has been Russia’s outstanding Yuri Zhirkov this summer. The CSKA full-back has been in sensational form as the Russians have stormed into the semi-finals on the back of a 3-1 win over the Dutch.

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Gareth Southgate has endured a difficult season and seemed destined to lose his job on a number of occasions but still he remains in charge at Boro. His counterpart this weekend seems destined to depart from Manchester City despite a season in which his team have never been out of the top 9 positions in the Premier League. As Jimmy Greaves once said “it’s a funny old game”.

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From recent results - two defeats and a draw from their last three - it would appear that Portsmouth have a dose of end-of-season syndrome. Now 7th in the league, Europe via 5th spot is near on impossible so time and effort is better spent conserving energy for their trip to Wembley.

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The Black Cats face another North-East derby this weekend as they entertain Middlesbrough in the Tees-Wear derby. They’ll be hoping for a better result than the disappointing 2-0 defeat at St James’ but will be facing a Boro side who’ll be looking to bounce back from a shock 1-0 home defeat to Bolton. This should be one of the most difficult matches to predict for Premier 10 players this week though it may be worth noting that Sunderland possess an appalling recent home record against Boro.

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The Trotters home win over West Ham last week has given Gary Megson’s side real hope of avoiding the drop but with this match being 1 of 3 remaining away games they still look destined for the drop.

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