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15m agoAnderlecht v Lyon team news
35m agoMilan v Benfica team news
46m agoSunderland v AZ team news
Sunderland 0-0 AZ: The visitors, who I’ll call AZ rather than Alkmaar, because the A in AZ stands for Alkmaar, are in their blue and white away kit, which makes them look a bit like Peterborough United.
There’s a terrific atmosphere inside the Stadium of Light, with fireworks and a giant ship tifo backed by a cacophony of noise. Let’s go!
Two early Europa League results to bring you: Sparta Prague have won 4-1 at Ararat Armenia, while Celta conceded late on to lose 1-0 at Omonia Nicosia.
Anderlecht (4-3-3) Coosemans (c); Maamar, Petrot, Omobamidele, Augustinsson; Amane, Llansana, Aasgaard; Winkler, Cvetkovic, Ambros.Subs: Heekeren, Reabciuk, Antman, Sikan, Bentayeb, Stroeykens, Barry, Cobiella, Kana, Joshua-Williame Nga Kana, Kalonji, Degreef.
Lyon (4-3-3): Descamps; Kluivert, Mata, Niakhate (c), Ouedraogo; Tessmann, Morton, Nartey; Boudache, Openda, Nakamura. Subs: Greif, Bengui Joao, Bidstrup, Tagliafico, Nuamah, Tolisso, Sulc, Athekame, Merah, Bacher, Duranville, Himbert.
Manchester United host Brighton, and there are not one but two heads of state in attendance as Everton entertain Wolves. Join Will Unwin for the latest Carabao Cup fun.
“Given Granit Xhaka’s scorching comments, will it turn out to be the Stadium of (Come On Baby) Light My Fire?” asks Peter Oh.
Régis Le Bris: “I’m feeling really proud, for the players, the club … for our fans too. [We need to] play the game first, and we want to be brave, but not naive. [The fans are] really important, they connect to our style of play. When we press high, they get behind us.”
I mentioned in my preamble that Sunderland’s last European fixture came in Lisbon, 53 years ago. Well, here’s the Guardian match report from our archive …
Milan (3-4-2-1) Maignan (c); Terracciano, De Winter, Pavlovic; Chukwueze, Musah, Jashari, Bartesaghi; Hutchinson, Cisse; Gonçalo Ramos.Subs: Torriani, Estupinan, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Rabiot, Modric, Moreira, Tomori, Gila, Gabbia, Saelemaekers, Camarda.
Benfica (4-2-3-1) Trubin; Banjaqui, Circati, Tomas Araujo, El Karouani; Aursnes (c), Palhinha; Kaminski, Sudakov, Lukebakio; Duran.Subs: Soares, Lenglet, Barrenechea, Pavlidis, Manu Silva, Barreiro, Schjelderup, Prestianni, Dahl, Rafa Silva, Echeverri, Cabral.
Four changes from Sunderland’s narrow defeat to Arsenal at the weekend: Ballard, Brobbey, Angulo and Meunier drop to the bench, with Alderete, Hume, Isidor and Fofana coming in.
Sunderland (4-2-3-1) Roefs; Mukiele, Danso, Alderete, Mandava; Xhaka (c), Sadiki; Hume, Le Fée, Fofana; Isidor.Subs: Moore, Ballard, Methalie, Brobbey, Angulo, Rigg, Meunier, O’Nien, Ahoka, Jones, Tutierov, Proctor.
AZ (4-3-3) De Busser; Dijkstra, Goes, Schouten, Chavez; Clasie (c), Koopmeiners, Smit; Oufkir, Meerdink, Daal.Subs: Owusu-Oduro, Maikuma, Patati, Stengs, Andreasen, Kovacs, Hornkamp, Kwakman, Hoedt, Ichihara, De Wit.
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.
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.
