Rafa Benitez is back in the Premier League with Newcastle but, with the Tyne-Wear derby on the horizon, what is his record against Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce? The Spaniard was appointed Newcastle boss after Steve McClaren was finally relieved of his duties and is tasked with steering the second-bottom Magpies to safety.Benitez was given a baptism of fire in his first outing on Monday Night Football, with league leaders Leicester restoring their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 victory. Newcastle fans with one eye on Sundays north-east derby clash with bitter rivals Sunderland may take hope from their new managers previous against Black Cats boss Sam Allardyce.Benitez has claimed seven wins from 12 matches against Allardyce - giving him a win percentage of almost 60 per cent.That ratio is only marginally bettered by his record against a previous Newcastle manager in Alan Pardew - and Pardews Crystal Palace visit Tyneside at the end of April in what could be another crunch clash in Benitezs bid to keep his new club in the top flight. Benitez record against current PL managers Opp Manager Played Won Drawn Lost Win Percentage Alan Pardew 5 3 1 1 60% Arsene Wenger 13 4 4 5 30.8% Mark Hughes 11 4 6 1 36.4% Mauricio Pochettino 1 0 0 1 0% Sam Allardyce 12 7 2 3 58.3% Tony Pulis 5 2 3 0 40% Improving an already striking win ratio against Allardyce would likely give Benitez, as well as the long-suffering Toon Army, satisfaction because its fair to say the pair dont see eye-to-eye.Their feud started when the then-Liverpool boss was critical of Allardyces Bolton and their physical playing style - a sentiment that did not sit well.Rafa would be very lucky to be in a job if he hadnt got to two Champions League finals, because theyve had some very poor finishes in the Premier League, Allardyce was quoted as saying in a magazine interview in September 2007, after he had left Bolton to take the Newcastle job. Allardyce (right) and his Bolton side earned criticism from Rafa While they are a very good Champions League team, theyre not a Premier League-winning side. They dont have the mentality to win that yet.Things came to a head, after several other spats, in 2010, following another victory for Benitez - Liverpools 2-1 success over Blackburn at Anfield. Benitez PL record v Allardyce Date & venue Benitez team Score Allardyce team 29/08/04, Reebok Stadium Liverpool 0-1 Bolton 02/04/05, Anfield Liverpool 1-0 Bolton 02/01/06, Reebok Stadium Liverpool 2-2 Bolton 09/04/06, Anfield Liverpool 1-0 Bolton 30/08/06, Reebok Stadium Liverpool 0-2 Bolton 01/01/07, Anfield Liverpool 3-0 Bolton 24/11/07, St James Park Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle 11/04/09, Anfield Liverpool 4-0 Blackburn 05/12/09, Ewood Park Liverpool 0-0 Blackburn 28/02/10, Anfield Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn 01/12/12, Upton Park Chelsea 1-3 West Ham 17/05/13, Stamford Bridge Chelsea 2-0 West Ham I think he is a model for all the managers all around the world, jibed Benitez. His style of football, his behaviour, everything.He is the perfect role model for all the kids. I am sure parents will enjoy this model and encourage their kids to be the same. I also think Barcelona are trying to copy his style of football.Allardyce responded - and didnt hold back. Alan Pardew (left) hasnt had much joy against Benitez It was a good cover-up by Rafa because he knows how bad his side were, Allardyce said.Hes got personal with it for many, many years now - thats why I dont like him and the feeling is probably mutual.Allardyce later wrote in his book: Of course, he can say he won the Champions League with Liverpool, which is something I never did. But it has nowt to do with him.Watch Benitezs first game back in the Premier League live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm on Monday. Or watch for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV. Also See: Redknapps title race view Do late sackings work? The relegation run-in Five challenges facing Benitez Curley Culp Womens Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Derrick Henry Youth Jersey . 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OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Thunder showed no lingering effects from their emotional loss at Golden State.Russell Westbrook scored 28 points to help Oklahoma City beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-92 on Saturday night.Enes Kanter had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Steven Adams scored 14 points and Victor Oladipo added 12 for the Thunder in their first game since being blown out by Golden State and former teammate Kevin Durant on Thursday.Well take something from that game to help us learn going forward, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. And it was all about us tonight. It was all about what we need to do, how we needed to play defensively, how we needed to play offensively.Westbrook also had eight assists and six rebounds. The Thunder improved to 5-1 on the season, matching their best six-game start since moving to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season.The Thunder shot 52 percent from the field and held the Timberwolves to 39 percent shooting.You have to make plays, Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. You have to move the ball side to side, and when we did that, we got good looks at the basket.Karl-Anthony Towns scored 33 points for the Timberwolves after scoring 32 Thursday night against Denver. He scored 25 points in the first half, but Westbrook countered with 18 to help the Thunder take a 59-53 lead into the break.Towns, he really played exceptionally well in the first half, and he made a lot of shots, Donovan said. He did it in a lot of different ways. He made 3s, he had post moves, he had face-ups. He had everything. Hes a terrific offensive player.No Minnesota player other than Towns reached double figures until the fourth quarter.The Timberwolves hung close for the early part of the third before the Thunder took over.An 11-0 run, sparked by a 3-pointer by Westbrook, then a steal and dunk by Westbrook, made it 79-61 and led to a Minnesota timeout. Jerami Grants two-handed dunk put Oklahoma City up 83-62, and the Thunder led 90-72 at the end of the third quarter.The Thunder held the Timberwolves to 30 percent shooting in the third quarter.dddddddddddd.We just turned it up a notch, Oladipo said. Now, we have to do that for four quarters. When we play like that defensively, we give ourselves a great chance to win.The long runs by opponents have been a recurring issue for the Timberwolves.Its a problem, Thibodeau said. The only thing we can do is take a look at the film, try to get some work in, try to make the corrections.---TIP-INSTimberwolves: Towns scored 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the first quarter, while his teammates shot 5 for 15 and scored 12. ... Rookie point guard Kris Dunn, who started in place of the injured Ricky Rubio, finished with seven points, four rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes. Rubio is out indefinitely with a sprained right elbow.Thunder: Shot 63.6 percent in the first quarter to lead 32-25. ... Westbrook had six assists in the first quarter. ... Westbrook was called for a technical foul early in the third quarter.SHUTDOWN DEFENSEMinnesotas top two scorers got nowhere. Andrew Wiggins, who entered the game averaging 24 points, scored seven points on 3-for-13 shooting. Zach LaVine, who was averaging 21.3 points, finished with just four on 1-for-6 shooting. Andre Roberson and Oladipo were largely responsible for defending them.LONG DISTANCETony Juarez of Oklahoma City won $20,000 from Mid-First Bank when he made a halfcourt shot during a timeout in the third quarter. According to the Thunder, it was the 10th time someone made the shot since the team moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, and the first since Dec. 13, 2015.The 22-year-old Juarez told a Thunder spokesman he would use the money for school. He called his mother in El Paso right after stepping off the court.UP NEXTThe Timberwolves play at the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.The Thunder host the Miami Heat on Monday night.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP. [ told a Thunder spokesman he w ' ' '