Sunderland enter the final stretch of their pre-season campaign on Saturday with a trip to Bradford City (KO 3pm).
When the Black Cats take to the field at Valley Parade less than two weeks will remain until the Sky Bet Championship season.
ROAD TO DERBY
All roads now lead to Derby County’s trip to the Stadium of Light on Friday 4 August. Three games separate the Lads and the highly-anticipated clash, and Simon Grayson will be seeking continued improvement between now and the domestic curtain-raiser. The Black Cats boss made his displeasure known after a 3-0 defeat at St Johnstone one week ago, but after bouncing back against Hartlepool United he’ll be hoping to see the Lads once again build on their fitness levels and quality – both in and out of possession.
PRE-SEASON KNOCKS
There were some notable absentees at Hartlepool on Tuesday evening as Sunderland clinched a late 2-1 win at Victoria Park. Brendan Galloway, Jack Rodwell and Lynden Gooch all missed out due to knocks but Simon Grayson assured there was no need for concern and that the trio will be back in action in the near future. And you can expect changes at Valley Parade after Lamine Kone, Darron Gibson, Lee Cattermole and George Honeyman complete 90 minutes against Pools.
BANTAMS BOUNCING BACK
Bradford City suffered a heartbreaking finale to the 2016-17 season, with Stuart McCall’s side losing 1-0 to Millwall in the Sky Bet League One play-off final at Wembley. But the Bantams are already preparing to mount another promotion challenge and as the new campaign approaches they’re maintaining winning momentum. A pre-season opener against Bradford Park Avenue ended in defeat but since then the League One outfit have won three on the bounce, overcoming TV Echterdingen, Guiseley and Eccleshill United.
DYNAMIC DUO
Sunderland’s senior attacking options remain stretched with James Vaughan currently leading the line after the departures of Victor Anichebe, Fabio Borini and Jermain Defoe, but limited options for the time being have given opportunity to youth. And the young guns have taken it. Josh Maja and Joel Asoro have both featured heavily under Grayson and they’ve both found the net, with Maja netting against Pools to add to brace against Bury and Asoro striking against Livingston. Time will tell if either can cope with the rough and tumble of the second tier at just 18 years of age, but this weekend they have the perfect chance to show they can against a team who were one game away from the Sky Bet Championship.
FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION
Fans can keep up-to-date with all the action through our live audio service with commentators Nick Barnes and Gary Bennett talking you through the game.
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.