Sunderland return to the Stadium of Light on Saturday for matchday three of the Sky Bet Championship season, as Queens Park Rangers head to Wearside (KO 3pm).
The Lads will be looking to preserve their unbeaten start to the league season, whilst responding from their midweek Carabao Cup defeat by Sheffield Wednesday.
Team news
Alex Neil has confirmed Leon Dajaku will miss the weekend contest after sustaining a thigh injury following his late cameo in last week’s win at Bristol City.
There are believed to be no fresh injury concerns in the squad, as those who did not feature at Hillsborough on Wednesday night trained throughout the week.
Opposition
QPR are into their eighth straight season at Championship level, having last featured in the Premier League during the 2014-15 campaign. The West Londoners’ highest finish during this period has been a ninth-place berth in 2020-21, and the club have had a mixed league start this term – following up a defeat by Blackburn Rovers with a 3-2 win over Middlesbrough.
Manager Michael Beale is a highly-esteemed coach who has spent the recent years of his career working alongside Steven Gerrard, with both Rangers and Aston Villa. He has also coached at Liverpool and Brazilian side Sao Paulo.
Around the grounds (KO Sat 3pm unless stated)
Watford vs Burnley (Friday 8pm)
Cardiff vs Birmingham (Saturday 12:30pm)
Blackpool vs Swansea
Huddersfield vs Stoke
Hull vs Norwich
Luton vs Preston
Millwall vs Coventry
Rotherham vs Reading
Wigan vs Bristol City
Middlesbrough vs Sheffield Utd (Sunday 2pm)
Blackburn vs West Brom (Sunday 3pm)
Tickets & coverage
Tickets for Saturday’s fixture with QPR are available on the club’s e-ticketing site by clicking here.
This match has been selected for overseas TV broadcast. Consequently, SAFSee streaming will be unavailable to either UK or overseas-based supporters for this match. For more information, click here.
Social media coverage will be live on the club’s official accounts on Twitter @SunderlandAFC, and Instagram @sunderlandafcofficial.