Brilliant fan pictures as Sunderland & AZ Alkmaar supporters enjoy build-up to historic Europa League clash - gallery

Sunderland & AZ Alkmaar fans have been enjoying the pre-match build-up at the Stadium of Light ahead of the 8pm KO in the historic Europa League clash.

The first of our SAFC fan galleries is now live - with plenty more to come. Ahead of the game, Régis Le Bris has hinted that any changes for Sunderland's Europa League debut against AZ Alkmaar are likely to be kept to a minimum.

The Black Cats face a demanding schedule this season and have been clear that stability in the Premier League is their ultimate priority, but Le Bris believes he has the depth and the freshness in his group to name a strong side in the early stages.

The Echo has launched a new WhatsApp SAFC Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our SAFC WhatsApp channel.

The Sunderland head coach also said it was clear that his players were keen to play in the competition as much as possible. "Because it's still early in the season, and the players are fresh, they can play, and they want to play because I think they want to play this competition," Le Bris said.

"They want to be involved in something new as well for the club, and we hope that the competition is really interesting at that point. So I repeat, we need more than 11 players to be competitive in both competitions, for example, but it's possible for us to go strong [at this stage]. "I think we want to go strong in both competitions, that's important for our fans and for the club as well,"

Le Bris added: “The depth of the squad is getting better as well, so we need more than 11 players to be efficient and competitive. I think the players are looking forward to this kind of competition, it's very obvious. The energy will be strong and it's still early in the season, so they are not tired."