Righto, that’s us done here. Thanks all for your company and comments, sorry I couldn’t use them all.

Rob Smyth has got you for the rest of the afternoon:

But otherwise, peace out.

Morgan Rogers, people. If you’ve not seen his winning goal, here it is:

Otherwise, Xhaka says he was told about the pain of the Cup defeat, and in a derby it doesn’t matter how you win, just that you do win. What a signing he’s been; when can Sunderland start aiming for Europe?

Granit Xhaka has a cut on his eyelid – which is ironic because I do too. I bet he didn’t get his waking up in the night, going to the toilet, and incorrectly measuring the distance between throne and wall, thereby headbutting the towel rail.

If I’m backing champions, I’m going for City – I’d almost always pick a team that scores freely over one that finds it harder, and they’re still improving while Arsenal might just be dipping. I’d not be surprised to be totally wrong, though.

Here’s Ed Aarons’ report from Selhurst.

It’s wild at the Stadium of Light, the crowd still in the ground and players lapping up the moment, recreating the team photo on the pitch that Newcastle took after beating them in the Cup the season before last. I can feel the reverberations of the buzz through my screen.

Isidor and Mukiele are still giving out, various bookings are issued, four I think – Guimaraes, Isidor, Willock and Miley.

…which is cleared at the front post then, when the ball comes back, Roefs, comes to collect and goes down following a challenge from Willock which porovokes minor scuffling, Miley and Isidore getting to it, shoving and so on. Everything that no one, apart from everyone, wants to see.

Ball into the box by Schar, it’s cleared to halfway, and Newcastle build again, every man bar Ramsdale in the Sunderland half. They win a corner….

At Sunderland, the home side look pretty solid at the back; they’ve four minutes of added time to survive.

Newcastle are not replete with ideas. Without Joelinton, they don’t have the same physicality in midfield, an attribute that helps them compensate for a lack of guile; Sunderland have four minutes and change to survive.

Join Rob Smyth for this one…

“Just when Celtic fans thought it couldn’t get any worse,” says Simon McMahon, “St. Mirren have scored after 90 seconds to take the lead at Hampden in the Scottish League Cup final...”

At least they’ve got the tracksuits.

Poor old Nick Woltemade is subbed – Wissa replaces him – and of course the home crowd offer him a fantastic reception.

Palace will be gutted to be 2-0 down – Pino’s first-half miss, in particular, was a massive oversight. But they now look like a team that knows the jig is up. City are going back to within two points of league-leaders Arsenal.

Sunderland are responding, a ball over the top brilliantly controlled by a leaping Isidor, who then leathers a shot – Sunderland’s first on target – that Ramsdale parries clear.

Newcastle are dominating possession now but, as I type, Sunderland move down the right and work Hume into the box, but he can’t quite find a teammate.

The tweaks Guardiola has made have worked well for Fill Phoden. The first time I saw him play, at age-group level, I messaged a mate and told them he was special, but progress is rarely linear so I’m not surprised he’s struggled at times. Now, though, he’s been given the responsibility to play centrally, and even at his worst, he’s a goal-threat – never mind now he’s hitting top form.

Malen is on for Villa – he’s such a brilliant option to have – and almost immediately, he leathers a shot from the edge that Areola fists clear. Back to Kamada, the issue seems to be a hamstring one, which is not what Palace need given their workload and small squad.

Newcastle are still struggling to create, or even to work a position from which creation might eventuate. Similarly, Spurs are not threatening at Forest, while Palace have lost Kamada, who’s hobbling off to be replaced by Hughes.

“I’m watching a Spanish stream of the West Ham game, in Mexico of course, says Luke Woodward. “Rather than ‘sticking his leg out’, the commentator said Bowen ‘corrected’ the ball into the net, which I enjoyed very much. The South and Central American commentators tend to be so complimentary about the Premier League!

I wonder if there are any other non-footballing verbs that can be used to otherwise describe goals in different ways?”

That’s lovely. Tom Williams wrote a book called Do You Speak Football? that looks at this kind of thing. I always liked the description of Paul Scholes “lending the ball out”.

Anthony Gordon streaks away on the counter … so Reinildo flies through him and is booked. That’s a proper derby challenge, and seconds later, Gordon is replaced by Barnes, with Murphy and Willock on for Tonali and Elanga.

“I’m not sure any of the great teams mentioned would swallow the injuries Arsenal have had to contend with this season and still look as good as we remember the 97-98 team being” muses Steve McSween.

Do you remember the injuries and suspensions they had to contend with? Alex Manninger, Christopher Wreh, Gilles Grimandi, Remi Garde and others all got a fair bit of game-time. This iteration have two quality players for every position.

Something I’ve really enjoyed about Sunderland this season is the fans cheering every challenge and clearance. It translates to the players, who daren’t bottle a tackle or jib a chase, and what we see on the pitch reflects that.

“I was just thinking this week that European football isn’t as stratified, quality-wise, as it was a few years ago,” says Kári Tulinius. “The superclubs seemed to operate on another level, but now they’re back where everyone else is. Though they have more resources, they have to work for their wins. Even PSG, probably the standout side right now, struggle without Dembélé. During the superclub era, that sort of thing mattered only in clashes at the top, such was the disparity. So I think you’re right about Arsenal and City.”

Compare this City to the Toure-Silva-Aguero side; it’s almost a different sport.

Sunderland are pushing for a second; Newcastle have offered almost nothing going forward.

In fairness to Woltemade, someone at the near post, I’m not sure who, jumped with conviction, so he perhaps saw the ball late, but he could easily have left it.

We’re back under way at Forest, Palace and West Ham; the teams are out at Sunderland.

Half-time email: “As an Arsenal fan, if (big if) they go on to win the league they will definitely be placed lower than the Invincibles and the 2001-02 double winners that were arguably even better, but frankly if they deliver a first title for more than two decades none of us will care that they’re a bit functional,” says Will Vignoles. “I can’t help thinking part of it is just how strong the mid-table teams of the league are in comparison to even a decade ago, and it definitely feels like the pace and intensity of the league and the sheer amount of games being played for club and country might be having an impact as well – I don’t watch enough of other teams to know for certain but it feels like more and more sides have hit a wall in December in the last few seasons.”

I agree it won’t matter to the fans, and I’d also put my favourite Wenger side, the 97-98 double winners above these. I agree the middle-ranking clubs have better players than ever before, though wonder if they’re much cop as teams, but Arsenal have two physical players for every position, so correctly husbanded they should be outlasting most opponents – the changes they were able to make after an hour or so against Bayern turned that game, I thought.

Half-time entertainment:

No side in the league has scored fewer first-half goals than Sunderland, and they really struggled to break Newcastle down – which makes sense, as they lack a bit of guile and class up front, while their opponents are physical, well-drilled, and defending in numbers.

“‘Relative to the best teams of the Premier League era, they’re miles off, in mine – is that controversial?’” begins Ric Arthur, quoting me to myself. “Yes; and churlish.”

You think they’re anywhere near Wenger’s best teams, Guardiola’s two great teams, Mourhino’s Chelsea, Man United’s two Champions League-winning sides? I’d have to see the working; I haven’t a clue what it’d even be.

Xhaka crosses to the back post and there’s Ballard, the man Sunderland would want it to be in that position, leaping … and he heads over.

Back at Selhurst, Palace are back at City, Mateta foiled by Donnaruma coming out to paw away just as it looks like he’s made his way around the keeper.

Burn can’t continue; he’s replaced by Fabian Schar. I was in Ibiza this summer and got chatting to a lad in the club who turned out to be one of Schar’s best mates – he told me he’d been to Wembley for the League Cup final and totally lost his mind, crying his eyes out at his boy’s success. We agreed his reaction made perfect sense.

At the City Ground, a fine cross through the corridor has narrowly eluded Gibbs-White, then another low cross is flicked wide by the same player. He wants a corner and rightly so – the defender took the ball behind.

Mukiele slides in and ploughs into Burn; he’s booked, but that looked to me like a 50-50, both players entitled to go for the ball in the knowledge that at least one of them was getting caught.

“Arsenal are only a few weeks off comfortably thrashing Bayern Munich,” says Adam Largs. “They’re 30 feet-deep in their depth chart and not playing their best, but it seems remarkably churlish to call them ‘miserable.’

Relative to the best teams of the Premier League era, they’re miles off, in mine – is that controversial? As it happens, I think similar is so in Spain.

The Tyne-Wear derby has been a little disappointing so far. We’ve had very little goalmouth action and Newcastle have barely made it out of their own half. Who’d have thought that, a year ago, they’d come to the Stadium of Light, to play a league fixture, as underdogs, then play like them?

Sunderland win a free-kick not far outside their own box and Roefs comes to pump it towards the Newcastle box; it reminds me of Dave Beasant for Wimbledon.

Tangentially, watching City having watched Arsenal last evening, I think we can say that no one is going to look back at this season’s eventual champions and rhapsodise them as a great side. The standard at the top of the table is miserable.

Now Kamada sashays through midfield and sets Sarr away, but he can’t quite work a shooting angle and his attempted square pass doesn’t reach Mateta. Palace are knocking at the door.

Palace are putting it on City, Pino wriggling past a pair of challenges inside the box but falling just as it’s time to shoot. At West Ham, Onana has just taken a header away from Konsa, sticking it over the bar – to his teammate’s consternation.

“The worst kit ever,” reckons Nicola Schofield, “that I think is meant to represent the Manchester rain?! To think we turned down Adidas for more of this from Puma!!!”

The Definitely Maybe kit was worse, I’d say, but we can all have our favourite least favourite.

We talked about Wharton conducting and he turns in midfield then lofts a sensational pass over the top and Pino is in! He punches a confident finish too, but it thuds against the face of the bar and flies over! That ought to have been 1-0.

Back with the Tyne-Wear derby, it’s still Sunderland making the running, Traore curling a gorgeous trivela cross into the corridor that Burn sticks behind; the corner comes to nowt.

It reminds me a bit of this Chelsea one from 1994.

What on earth have Manchester City come as? Photo to follow when I have it, but in the meantime, Sunderland have a corner … ands Newcastle get it away at the second attempt.

At the City Ground, Sangare has just monstered a header on to the post. They’ve started well against Spurs, whose impressive away record is surely a coincidence.

The Stadium of Light is absolutely jumping and it’s Sunderland commanding the early territory. Newcastle are sitting off in a 4-5-1 block.

Away we go!

“Here in the Grenadines the game is on in Keegan’s Bar on the island of Bequia – in case anyone is frantically searching,” advises Alun Pugh. “Everyone welcome. Not Mackems obviously.”

Aha, Sky have Multiview, so I’ll have Sunderland v Newcastle and Palace v City on my main screens, and keep up to date with West Ham v Villa and Foresrt v Spurs thataway.

Out come our teams…

“That Maradona clip reminded me of when I saw Messi once – the only time I’ve seen him,” emails Shaun T. “Barcelona won 2-1 at Man City (Suarez got two and Messi fluffed a very late penalty) BUT it was one of the only times I’ve been mesmerised by a lad on the pitch. I think at one point I just watched him, and only him, and if I’m not wrong he wriggled out of ridiculously tight spaces with nutmegs at least three times in the game. Just felt the same watching that Maradona clip.”

Maradona was a stronger player than Messi, with more competitive charisma – he stood for something beyond just footballing genius – but the spatial awareness and dexterity was similar, I agree.

I was interested to hear Pep Guardiola talking about Rayan Cherki last week, explaining what we all know, really: he’s an amazing talent, but can he work hard enough to become an amazing player? He’s been told – and by someone he can rely on to extract the most from him, if he does his bit.

Looking at that City team, they’re beginning to settle aren’t they? I still look at the back four and think it looks vulnerable – if Palace can feed their wingers, there’s joy to be had out wide, I fancy, and there’s not much steel in the centre of the park. I’m looking forward to seeing how Adam Wharton does – I love his vision and commitment to playing forward, but wonder if his relative lack of physicality will prevent him from becoming an elite midfielder.

I think I can only get three games on. If so, I guess Forest v Spurs will be the one I don’t watch.

They’re playing Opus at the Stade de Lit which, of course, is now inextricably linked with one of the great early-days-of-the-internet videos.

Glorious pettiness latest: Sunderland won’t display the name “Newcastle” on the scoreboard – it’ll be “Visitors”.

Email! “A lot of conflicting emotions and thoughts around this iteration of the derby,” begins Chris Paraskevas. “I’ve been trying to put it out of my mind but keep returning to classic highlights packages and match previews from every corner of the world wide web.

Having had the pleasure of experiencing a Mackem try to kick the shit out of me while on Tyneside (eye-balled him, we both had our colours on) I can honestly say that it just doesn’t feel the same down here in Australia.

Yes, there have been some memorable get-togethers: watching the 5-1 at the casino with a small (but very loud) group of ex-pats and seeing The Mackem Slayer’s injury-time equaliser at a packed bar before getting booked by the cops in true derby spirit.

But it just doesn’t have the same sense of occasion as being there, deep in enemy territory, walking among people who would metaphoricall/literally scrap with a horse if the occasion demanded it/the result didn’t go our way.

Extremely nervous (owing to our poor away form and the excellent job Le Bris has done) but ultimately, it’s great to have this fixture back.

PS. Can’t wait to see what Sunderland have done with the bar this time around.”

If I could pick one match this season to go to as a neutral, it’d be this one.

Talking of Brobbey, it’s an absolute crime if he doesn’t get a song to this, no 1 on this day on in 1993.

If I was a rich club looking for a midfielder, I’d be very interested in Noah Sadiki, who has a bit of everything. My guess is Sunderland look to run Newcastle off the pitch in midfield – not easily done – and to play off Brobbey, with Enzo Le Fee their wildcard. If they can get him on the ball, they’ll hope he can pick runs in behind with balls slid down the sides of defenders, and I’d also expect plenty of crosses and box-crashing from the midfielders.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have a flying machine either side of Woltemade, who has a lovely touch and imagination – I’m sure they’ll look to use him as a pivot and an out-ball, and for him to play little touches around the corner to set them away.

Pep Guardiola says Jeremy Doku has a leg injury. He likes Palace, who he thinks are a good, all-round side, while Oliver Glasner is happy to have Ismailia Sarr back, especially because of his pace in behind. He replaces Eddie Nketiah, but the fantastic Daniel Munoz is still unavailable, so Nathaniel Clyne continues at right-back.

Looking more closely at the teams, Sunderland make three changes, one in defence, one in midfield and one in attack: Reinildo, whose name has ISS overtones, replaces Trai Hume; Chemsdine Talbi is in for Lutsharel Geertruida; and Brian Brobbey plays up front, not Wilson Isidor.

Newcastle are without the injured Joelinton and Nick Pope, with Lewis Miley replacing the former wile Anthony Elanga is in for Harvey Barnes.

Unai Emery says West Ham are solid and compact with good players and a plan; they’re very strong in transition. Villa need to defend, control the game with their positioning and try and progress the ball.

Nuno says he thinks long and hard about whether to play Callum Wilson as well Jarrod Bowen – today he doesn’t – and considers the opponent and gameplan.

Thomas Frank says it’s been good to have a few days off between games, and his team are ready to go. He thinks his team now has a more discernible structure and identity – overall he liked the last three performances.

He’s so busy, it’s hard to enjoy the job, but in the relentlessness it’s a privilege to have his job. The team are more solid defensively and are now looking to improve in attack. He’s expecting a transitional game, Forest sitting back and waiting for a counter, and rest defence and counter-pressing will be important.

Spurs need to close down Forest’s midfield two, while Kudus and Xavi Simons are starting to play well.

Le Bris is proud, as Sunderland are back in the Premier League and excited to play this game – he wants composure and intensity.

Today, he goes with a back four, not the five he’s been using recently, but says the team are now able to flick between formations during games. Otherwise, he wants them to press high, and that’s our lot.

Here’s Eddie Howe! He says that his team have played lots of big matches over the last few years but this one is a bit different. He wants his players to be level.

Sunderland are a flexible team, so he’ll know more about the tactical specifics once he sees the XI Regis le Bris suggests, but Newcastle are in good form at the moment and he was happy with their midweek draw in Leverkusen.

Finally, he notes that it’s a big game for Lewis Miley, who’s a local lad, and after coming off the bench in Germany to score a fine goal, he deserves his start.