Sunderland and Newcastle United are gearing up for a record-breaking Tyne-Wear derby in the Women’s Championship this Sunday.
More than 14,000 tickets have been sold for the match at the Stadium of Light (14:00 BST), the most ever for a second-tier women’s league match.
After four games, eighth-placed Sunderland trail Newcastle by two places and three points.
“It’s fantastic for north-east women’s football,” said Newcastle manager Becky Langley. “It’s an important game for the football club and one I’m really proud to prepare the team for.”
Sunderland have marketed this game as ‘Race to 20K’ in terms of trying to reach an attendance of more than 20,000.
But the figure is set to smash the previous best of 11,137 for a match at this level between Sheffield United and London City in November 2022.
This is the first of four matches that the Lasses will play at the Stadium of Light this season.
Birmingham, Durham and Sheffield United will all travel up to the 48,707-capacity stadium in 2025, while other home matches will be held at their regular Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground.
Sunderland manager Mel Reay hopes any first-time attendees on Sunday can be hooked enough to become regular fans in the near future.
“It’s a bit different to Eppleton with fans cheering us on in the stands, but that’s what we want,” she told BBC Radio Newcastle.
“We fully understand that, as the game grows and that if there’s more than 1,800, we can’t play at Eppleton.
“So if we can get those numbers week-in, week-out who want to attend games, the Stadium of Light will be a regular occurrence.”
After winning promotion from the National League North last season, this match is one of the standouts of the campaign for the Magpies.
Langley admits she’s had a quiet word with one or two players to get across the meaning of the derby.
“We’ve explained how much it means to people and how much the regional pride plays a big part in it,” she told BBC Radio Newcastle.
“But there are players who’ve played for both clubs and people in this team who bleed black-and-white, so it means a lot to them.”
