Sevilla and Sunderland will continue their preparations for the new season with a friendly at the Estádio Algarve in Portugal. The Black Cats are gearing up for a return to the English Premier League and could be in for a stern test against the tricky Spaniards.
Sevilla endured an uncharacteristically poor campaign last season, just missing out on relegation from La Liga by a single point. Matias Almeyda is the new man at the helm and will look to avoid the problems from last season.
The Spaniards have not been overly active in the transfer market, with left-back Gabriel Suazo and forward Alfons Gonzalez their only recruits so far. They will be hoping for more reinforcement, especially after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Birmingham in their previous friendly game.
Sunderland are prepping for a return to the Premier League after an eight-year absence. They have had a busy summer, with Simon Adingra, Chemsedine Taibi, and Habib Diarra among the arrivals.
The Black Cats are already well into the swing of preseason having played town matches so far. Regis Le Bris’ team began with a 2-2 draw with Gateshead before claiming a 4-0 victory over South Shields in their previous game.
How the bookies view it:
Details to come.
Head to head: No previous meetings
This will be the first ever meeting between Sevilla and Sunderland.
Players to watch: Eyes on Lukebakio
Dodi Lukebakio could be the one to watch for Sevilla after scoring 11 goals last season. Rafa Mir could also be worth keeping an eye on and both men can produce over 1.5 goals for the Spaniards.
Wilson Isidor stood out for Sunderland last season, finishing with 12 League goals to help the Black Cats gain promotion. New signing, Adingra also looks an exciting prospect up front and both men can combine to produce over 1.5 goals.
Probable line ups:
Sevilla welcomed Lukebakio, Djibril Sow, Nemanja Gudelj, Juanlu Sanchez and Loic Bade back to training earlier this week and at least three of them should feature. Meanwhile, Joan Jordan and Tanguy Nianzou are ruled out due to injuries.
For Sunderland, Le Bris should test new signing Reinildo Mandrava and Adingra. Goalkeeper Patterson should keep his spot, while Lukebakio and Eliezer Mayenda are likely to feature in attack.
Sevilla: Fernandez, Carmona, Bade, Salas, Pedrosa, Gudelj, Bueno, Ejuke, Juanlu, Vargas, Lukebakio
Sunderland: Patterson, Hume, Huggins, Ballard, Reinildo, Mundle, Le Fee, Diarra, Adingra, Isidor, Mayenda
Anything else catch the eye?
Sunderland’s two preseason matches have produced over 3.5 goals, while Sevilla saw a similar outcome in their previous fixture. There were also goals in the Spaniards' last friendly.
There were over 1.5 first-half goals in Sevilla's previous fixture, while Sunderland’s friendly also followed a similar pattern.
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