St Johnstone v Sunderland
McDiarmid Park
Saturday 15 July
2pm
Sunderland take on St Johnstone on Saturday as their pre-season tour of Scotland comes to a close and the Sky Bet Championship season edges closer.
The match-up is an intriguing one with Sunderland fans likely to catch a first glimpse of new recruits, as Tyrias Browning, Aiden McGeady and James Vaughan wait to make their debuts.
But it will be the Black Cats’ toughest pre-season outing to date, with Tommy Wright’s side already fighting fit after facing UEFA Europa League qualifiers in recent weeks.
EUROPE
St Johnstone enjoyed a terrific season last year and a fourth-place finish in the Ladbrokes Premiership led to UEFA Europa League qualification, with Rangers, Aberdeen and unbeaten champions Celtic the only sides to finish higher in Scotland’s top tier. But the Saints European adventure didn’t quite go as planned, and it’s already come to an end. A costly 2-1 defeat at home in the first leg against Trakai gave Wright’s side work to do, but there was no way back as the Lithuanian side clinched a 1-0 win in the second leg to progress. The St Johnstone boss insists there will be ‘no league hangover’ and that his troops will once again battle with Scotland’s best during the upcoming campaign, but nevertheless it’s been a frustrating start to the season in Perth.
ATTACKING OPTIONS
The red and white army have backed the Lads in numbers so far this pre-season, and despite a lengthy trip north they’ll be plenty of interest in Saturday’s game. Why? New signings, and attacking ones at that. Thursday’s double deal saw McGeady and Vaughan sign on the dotted line as Grayson bolstered his attack with two players he’s worked with – and got the best out of – in the past. McGeady spent last season on loan with Preston North End and under Grayson he was back to his best, notching eight goals and seven assist during his time at Deepdale. And Vaughan also joins the club in white-hot form having banged in goal after goal for Bury last season, with Billy Sharp the only League One player to find the net on more occasions. It remains to be seen if either will feature, but Vaughan arrives raring to go having played against the Lads one week ago at Gigg Lane.
NUMBER ONE
Vito Mannone was rested on Wednesday evening but the Italian will return to action at McDiarmid Park. In the wake of Wednesday’s 3-0 win, Grayson revealed that he wanted to take a closer look at Mika and give Max Stryjek valuable minutes following his return to the club after the U21 European Championships. Both stoppers impressed at the Tony Macaroni Arena with Mika confident and calm as the Black Cats bossed proceedings. And Stryjek was equally comfortable as the Lads registered a first clean sheet of the season. Over to you, Vito.
WAHBI’S WING WIZARDRY
Wahbi Khazri has been simply unstoppable in pre-season. The Tunisian ran riot against Hibernian last weekend and he deservedly opened the scoring midway through the opening period – and he repeated that feat midweek as he capped another impressive outing with a goal. Khazri, 26, made just 15 league appearances last season but he seems determined to impress this pre-season and is likely to play a key role on Saturday.
FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION AS IT HAPPENS
Fans can keep up-to-date with all the action through our live audio service with commentators Nick Barnes and Stuart Vose.
There will be a minute-by-minute analysis of the action on safc.com and various updates on the club’s Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.