Sunderland return to the Stadium of Light on Sunday (KO 1.30pm) for their first home game of the 2016-17 Premier League season.
Hosting Middlesbrough in a mouth-watering Wear-Tees derby, David Moyes’ side opened their campaign with a cruel late defeat at Manchester City, as Pep Guardiola’s side struck late to seal three points at the Etihad Stadium.
Jermain Defoe scored his first goal of the campaign and will be hoping to add to his top-flight haul when Boro come to town, with Aitor Karanka’s side aiming to build on an opening-day draw against Stoke City at the Riverside.
Like Defoe, former Man City man Alvaro Negredo will be hoping to do the same after opening his account against the Potters.
Boro, who secured automatic promotion last year, enjoyed an impressive pre-season going unbeaten with comprehensive wins over York City, Doncaster Rovers and Aston Villa preceding a tight draw with Real Sociedad.
Karakna has added quality and numbers to his squad during the off-season bringing in the likes of Negredo, Victor Valdes, Gaston Ramirez and Viktor Fischer, while Jordan Rhodes arrived in a big-money move from Blackburn Rovers in January.
Marten de Roon also signed for £12m from Italian side Atalana however he’s unlikely to feature after limping off against Stoke, but former Manchester United defender Fabio, who arrived from Cardiff City earlier this week, could make his debut.
Sunderland will once again be without a number of key players with Lamine Kone, Billy Jones, Lee Cattermole and Jan Kirchhoff ruled out.
Fabio Borini is also a doubt due to a toe injury. For full team news please click here.
Papy Dijilobodji could make his debut after being an unused substitute at the Etihad Stadium, with Adnan Januzaj vying for a starting place after making his debut against the Citizens.
The last meeting between Sunderland and Middlesbrough came in 2012 as a Scott McDonald strike knocked the Lads out of the Capital One Cup, with the last league meeting at the Stadium of Light ending in a 2-0 home win thanks to Michael Chopra’s late double.
Sunderland also boast a superior record overall winning 61 games to Boro’s 44, with 37 encounters ending level.
Tickets
Ticket information ahead of Sunday’s game is available by clicking here.
Can’t make the match?
Sunday’s match will take place at 1.30pm with comprehensive coverage available on safc.com and on Twitter by following @SunderlandAFC.
Supporters can also listen live via the official website with Nick Barnes and Gary Bennett taking you through all the action.
Sunderland to Win 1-0 now 7/1 (was 11/2)