Manchester United loanee and eight other first-team players start for Sunderland U21s against Leeds United

Defender Bailey Wright will captain the team, while Dennis Cirkin will play at left-back, his first appearance since recovering from a hamstring injury.

New signings Jewison Bennette, Edouard Michut, Abdoullah Ba and Manchester United loanee Amad will also feature, along with Trai Hume, Jay Matete and Leon Dajaku.

Leeds will start with former Sunderland academy player Sam Greenwood and first-team forward Joe Gelhardt up front.

Sunderland’s under-21s side will be back in action on Friday when they host Reading in the Premier League Cup at Eppleton CW.

Read more

Jack Clarke explains his thoughts on playing as a striker for Sunderland

Sunderland XI: Carney, Hume, Wright, Johnson, Cirkin, Michut, Ba, Matete, Bennette, Dajaku, Amad

Subs: Richardson, Kachosa, Burke, Newell, Thompson

Leeds XI: Klaesson, Drameh, Sutcliffe, Spencer, Moore, Gyabi, Perkins, Joseph, Gnonto, Greenwood, Gelhardt

Subs: Christy, McGurk, McLalmont, Allen, Miller