Phil Parkinson reveals early Sunderland team news ahead of Aston Villa EFL Trophy clash

Morgan Feeney and Dan Neil are expected to start while Jack Diamond, Jake Hackett and Brandon Taylor are also set to be involved in the behind-closed-doors game.

Parkinson has previously spoken about using this competition to help bridge the gap between the Under-23 team and first team, with the game kicking off at 7pm.

Parkinson said: “The young players need a game, along with the lads who didn’t play (against Hull).

“That’s really important. I think at this stage of the season, it’s important to get everybody up to speed. We want to give the youngsters an opportunity in that game. There’ll be some senior players in there, but it’ll be an opportunity for the young players to show what they can do.

“We are trying this season to build an Under-23 team and have some integration between the younger players in the first-team squad and that Under-23 team, and treat it more as a reserve team.

“Last year, it was very difficult for the Under-23s with the quality in that team and the results they got, and I didn’t feel there were enough players in there who were ready to step up and make a claim.”

New signings Arbenit Xhemajli and Danny Graham could also feature.