It’s the first Tyne-Wear derby in the Premier League for nine years as Sunderland take on Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.
Newcastle have sometimes played this fixture in the past in their home kit of black-and-white striped shirts.
The most recent example was the FA Cup tie last year (see photo below).
However, Newcastle will play Sunday’s fixture at the Stadium of Light in their third kit of dark blue.
This is because the combination of Sunderland’s red-and-white striped shirts and Newcastle’s black-and-white-striped shirts is deemed to be too similar for those watching, playing or officiating.
Rule M.22 of the Premier League Handbook outlines the procedure for determining which kits away clubs can play in: “When playing in League Matches the Players of each participating Club shall wear a Strip which differs visibly from and contrasts with one another to ensure that Match Officials, Players, spectators and television viewers (including those with colour vision deficiency) will be able to distinguish clearly between the two teams.”