Half of Sunderland’s squad are preparing for a pre-season friendly against Gateshead - but who will start for Tony Mowbray’s side?
The Black Cats are set to play two matches on Saturday, with the first coming against South Shields (12:30pm kick-off) and the second coming against Gateshead (4pm kick-off) later in the day.
Both games will allow a mixture of first-team and youth-team players to be involved as they gain valuable minutes ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Sunderland still have several players unavailable due to injuries which were sustained during the last campaign.
Here’s our predicted line-up to face Gateshead:
1. GK: Alex Bass
Following his move to Sunderland from Portsmouth last summer, Bass has only made two senior appearances in cup competitions. The 25-year-old will be hoping for more opportunities during the upcoming campaign. Photo: Martin Swinney
2. RB: Niall Huggins
After over a year of constant injury setbacks, the 22-year-old will be hoping for a good pre-season to build up his fitness and put himself in contention for game time. Photo: Frank Reid
3. CB: Danny Batth
The experienced centre-back, 32, was voted the Sunderland supporters’ player of the season last term and is available again following a knee injury earlier this year. Photo: Frank Reid
4. CB: Dan Ballard
Ballard also missed the end of the last campaign with a hamstring issue but has been back on the grass at the Academy of Light. Photo: Frank Reid