At the time of writing, Sunderland have played two pre-season fixtures, with both of those matches taking place last Saturday, beating South Shields 5-0 before suffering a 2-1 defeat to Gateshead in a double-header.
The Black Cats will also be in action on Friday night against Nottingham Forest, though, before returning to action with a clash against Spanish outfit Eldense on Sunday afternoon.
Sunderland’s 2024-25 Championship campaign will begin on August 10 against Cardiff City, and after this weekend, they will have just three pre-season games remaining, tackling Blackpool, Bradford City and Marseille.
Regis Le Bris is now in charge at the Stadium of Light, with the 48-year-old arriving at the end of last month, and he will be bidding to improve on Sunderland’s 16th-placed finish in the Championship last term.
The Black Cats have only made two signings during the summer market, with Alan Browne and Simon Moore arriving on free transfers, while five players have departed at the end of their contracts.
Eldense should have a number of debutants on show in this match, with Camarasa, Dani Martin, Victor Garcia, Fran Gamez, Simo Bouzaidi and Nacho Quintana all set to be involved.
Florin Andone is likely to lead the line for the Spanish outfit, while there is also expected to be a spot in central midfield for the experienced David Timor.
This will be head coach Ponz’s first match in charge in his second spell at the club, so the manager will want to have a good look at his squad over the course of pre-season.
STREAM LINKS >>> Stream 1 Stream 2 Stream 3
As for Sunderland, Dan Ballard is missing for the next six weeks due to the knee injury that he picked up in the clash with South Shields.
However, a 31-man squad for the pre-season trip to Spain did include Dennis Cirkin, who is working his way back from a serious hamstring injury.
There will again be wholesale changes throughout Sunday’s contest, but new signings Browne and Moore are expected to be in the starting XI on Sunday afternoon.
