Abdoullah Ba made his first appearance of Sunderland’s pre-season campaign at Valley Parade on Tuesday evening. Ba had been recovering from a minor knock but has returned to full training in recent weeks.
As expected, Regis Le Bris made 11 changes to his starting XI from the 1-0 win over Blackpool with Leo Hjelde also passed fit to start. Hjelde missed out on the squad on Saturday due to a minor calf problem.
Elliot Embleton was named in the starting XI despite speculation linking him with a move to Blackpool. None of those who started at Bloomfield Road on Saturday have travelled with the group, with a bench made up of academy players named.
Luis Hemir was also been named on the bench. Pierre Ekwah remains absent with a back problem, having not featured since the opening game of the club’s pre-season camp in Spain.
Sunderland went 2-0 down in the first half to goals from Calum Kavanagh and Andy Cook. Romaine Mundle pulled one back for the visitors in the second stanza.
Here, we take a look at how Phil Smith rated Sunderland’s players against Bradford City:
13. Ben Crompton
One or two loose passes but made one good late challenge inside the box. Nice to see him in first-team after some injury frustration last season. 5 | Sunderland AFC's YouTube.
