Sunderland AFC news: Staggering ticket update for Coventry clash as Middlesbrough fixture is moved

Sunderland have announced that a crowd of over 40,000 supporters is set to attend their season opener against Coventry City at the Stadium of Light.
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Fans have been advised to arrive as early as possible ahead of the 12pm kick-off on Sunday, with a display organised by Spirit of ‘37 set to take place at 11:50am.

Here are some of today’s other SAFC news stories ahead of Sunday’s match:

Middlesbrough fixture moved

Sunderland fans against Sheffield Wednesday.Sunderland fans against Sheffield Wednesday.
Sunderland fans against Sheffield Wednesday.
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Sunderland’s Championship trip to Middlesbrough will now be played on Monday, September 5 (8pm kick-off) after being selected for live broadcast.

The match was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 3.

Sunderland’s trip to Reading has also been selected to be broadcast live on Sky Sports but will still be played on Wednesday September 14 (8pm kick-off), as originally planned.

Squad numbers announced

Sunderland have also revealed their new squad numbers for the upcoming season.

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Goalkeeper Anthony Patterson will take up the No 1 jersey, with numbers 1-15 all allocated.

New signing Daniel Ballard will wear No 5, while Patrick Roberts will take up the vacant number 10 and Jack Clarke will move to No 20.

Dennis Cirkin will move to No 3, with Danny Batth moving to No 6.

New signing Ellis Simms will wear the No 9 shirt.

Under-21 fixtures announced

Finally, Sunderland’s under-21s side will kick off their campaign at Norwich City in Premier League 2, Division 2, on Friday, August 12.

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The league has been changed from an under-23 to an under-21 competition this season, with clubs still permitted to use up to five over-age outfield players plus one over-age goalkeeper.

Sunderland will face Aston Villa in their first home match at Eppleton CW on Monday, August 15, before taking on West Brom two weeks later.

The young Black Cats will finish the campaign away at Stoke on Monday, March 6.

Michael Proctor and Mike Dodds took charge of Sunderland’s under-23 side following Elliott Dickman’s move to Newcastle last October.

Both Proctor and Dodds have been assisting Alex Neil in the Black Cats’ first-team set-up, meaning the club have begun a process to appoint a new under-21s coaching team.