LUCA STEPHENSON is hoping it will be a Beautiful Sunday.
The Dundee United star is looking for a win in the Dundee derby and for Liverpool to lift the Carabao Cup.
Stephenson wants to aid United's European push with a home win over next door neighbours Dundee.
The Sunderland fan will then be rushing off in the hope of seeing his parent club to beat Newcastle in the Wembley showpiece down south.
He said: "Fingers crossed!
"The perfect Sunday would be us winning then going back home, putting my feet up on the couch and watching Liverpool tonk Newcastle, hopefully.
"Yes, as they say, what a Beautiful Sunday that would be."
It will be the young midfielder's first taste of the City of Discovery derby at Tannadice after winning won one and losing one in two visits to Dens Park.
The latter of the two was the rather sore Scottish Cup defeat, which United will be looking to avenge in front of their own fans tomorrow.
Stephenson said: "I will be looking forward to playing here because I missed the one on the opening day.
"So, as good as the derbies have been over the road - especially the first one because we won the game - I'm really looking forward to getting here and seeing what it's like at our own stadium with our own fans here."
Stephenson lives in the city and knows first hand what a derby victory means to the fans.
He is well aware of the importance of city bragging rights having come through the ranks with the Liverpool v Everton rivalry.
He smiled: "You can’t walk around Asda without being told what the game means to the people around here.
“It’s similar (to Liverpool), I think.
"I've been a little bit around first team derbies there - not played in one - but it's kind of similar as in the stadiums are so close together.
"It kind of divides families and stuff like that.
"You notice the difference here. When I played youth team derbies down there, there's no fans there.
"It's intense on the pitch, but around the stadium we play in, there's not many fans in the ground, whereas, you come here and you've got however many in on Sunday, 12,000-13,000 screaming and it means as much to them as it does to us.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/Nb26spCDRWdCnzs...
The Dundee United star is looking for a win in the Dundee derby and for Liverpool to lift the Carabao Cup.
Stephenson wants to aid United's European push with a home win over next door neighbours Dundee.
The Sunderland fan will then be rushing off in the hope of seeing his parent club to beat Newcastle in the Wembley showpiece down south.
He said: "Fingers crossed!
"The perfect Sunday would be us winning then going back home, putting my feet up on the couch and watching Liverpool tonk Newcastle, hopefully.
"Yes, as they say, what a Beautiful Sunday that would be."
It will be the young midfielder's first taste of the City of Discovery derby at Tannadice after winning won one and losing one in two visits to Dens Park.
The latter of the two was the rather sore Scottish Cup defeat, which United will be looking to avenge in front of their own fans tomorrow.
Stephenson said: "I will be looking forward to playing here because I missed the one on the opening day.
"So, as good as the derbies have been over the road - especially the first one because we won the game - I'm really looking forward to getting here and seeing what it's like at our own stadium with our own fans here."
Stephenson lives in the city and knows first hand what a derby victory means to the fans.
He is well aware of the importance of city bragging rights having come through the ranks with the Liverpool v Everton rivalry.
He smiled: "You can’t walk around Asda without being told what the game means to the people around here.
“It’s similar (to Liverpool), I think.
"I've been a little bit around first team derbies there - not played in one - but it's kind of similar as in the stadiums are so close together.
"It kind of divides families and stuff like that.
"You notice the difference here. When I played youth team derbies down there, there's no fans there.
"It's intense on the pitch, but around the stadium we play in, there's not many fans in the ground, whereas, you come here and you've got however many in on Sunday, 12,000-13,000 screaming and it means as much to them as it does to us.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583517504/1742004687/articles/Nb26spCDRWdCnzs...
You're reading a preview of
Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 15, 2025