Key events
Team news is imminent. In the meantime, TNT’s Jules Breach is chatting to Kevin Phillips on a windy walk to the stadium. “They love goalscorers here,” chuckles Super Kev as passing fans serenade him.
The Sunderland captain, Granit Xhaka, has fired an incendiary warning to tonight’s visitors:
The stadium will be on fire. And I want to see our players on fire, on and off the ball. I’ve always been a dreamer and, for me, it’s a big, big dream to reach another European final and to get it with this club.
Preamble
Sunderland’s only previous European campaign came in 1973-74, when they balanced a Division Two campaign with fixtures against Hungary’s Vasas and Sporting of Portugal, whose players spent time with the locals before losing 2-1 at Roker Park. A 2-0 victory back in Lisbon was enough to end Sunderland’s continental ambitions … until now.
After an extraordinary return to the Premier League and a seventh-place finish, Sunderland have another ticket to Europe, this time with eight fixtures guaranteed. First to visit the Stadium of Light are Dutch outfit AZ, mainstays of the Europa and Conference Leagues, who will offer a fair test of their hosts’ readiness for the long road towards the final in Frankfurt.
There are some big dogs in this year’s 36-team league phase – perhaps none bigger than seven-times European champions, Milan, who host Benfica in a high-ticket opening game. We’ll also get a first look at Lyon (away to Anderlecht) and Leverkusen (hosting Celje of Slovenia), so keep it locked.
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