Sunderland’s 2026/27 campaign officially begins on Saturday afternoon as the Black Cats face York City in their opening pre-season friendly at the LNER Community Stadium.
It’s a busy day for the Black Cats, with an academy side also facing South Shields earlier in the day. Many of the club’s best young players will be with Régis Le Bris’s group, having stepped up in training over the last fortnight the absence of the twelve players who represented their nation at the FIFA World Cup.
It has already been confirmed that Thomas Meunier will not be making his debut having become the club’s first summer signing earlier this week, with the full back taking a break following his World Cup commitments. So who can supporters expect to see in action on Saturday afternoon? While it’s not clear exactly how Le Bris will manage his group over the 90 minutes we have a good idea who is likely to be involved, so here’s our predicted squad...
21. Sub - Nilson Angulo
Angulo is back and looking to build on some strong World Cup showings for Ecuador. | Nilson Angulo of Sunderland against Port Vale. Photo by Chris Fryatt.
22. Sub - Brian Brobbey
Brobbey was superb at the World Cup and looks set for a big campaign in red-and-white, which will likely start with some second-half minutes here. | Getty Images