It’s felt like ages since we were back, but finally, Sunderland take to the field once again at the Stadium of Light this afternoon with the pre-season visit of top La Liga side Real Betis.
The last time that the two sides met was in 2014, when Sunderland ran out 2-0 winners in Bishop Auckland, thanks to goals from Steven Fletcher and Connor Wickham – with midfielder Jack Rodwell making his debut following a big-money move from Manchester City.
We can only hope that today, when another midfielder who
moved to Sunderland for big bucks makes his debut for the Lads, things turn out a little better with this transfer than that one. Granit Xhaka, who signed earlier in the week from Bayer Leverkusen, is expected to get some minutes and, for the watching fans, it will be their first chance to get a look at someone who is genuinely a world-class operator in his position.
We’re also set to give minutes to Reinildo Mandava, who is yet to make an appearance, and we could also see some of Wilson Isidor, who has missed most of our pre-season campaign to date.
Supporters attending tomorrow's game will enjoy 50% off Carling and Madri in general admission spaces from 13:30 to 14:30!
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) August 1, 2025
For Sunderland, this is probably the time to step things up with our preparations for the West Ham game in a couple of weeks. We haven’t got many friendlies left before the big day, and realistically, the Augsburg game next weekend is likely to be used to give minutes to the players who won’t play on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, so we have two chances to give our strongest side a proper run-out.
Who lines up in midfield is perhaps the selection that intrigues me most, given the options we now have at our disposal and the fact that Régis Le Bris will want to get the spine of his team solidified sooner rather than later. Which three of Enzo Le Fée, Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, Granit Xhaka and Dan Neil will get the nod? We’ll find out soon, as whatever he goes with this afternoon should give us a clear indication of where things are headed.
For Betis, they are slightly ahead of Sunderland in terms of their pre-season preparations and, given that they start their league season next weekend, you’d expect their intensity to be high and for their manager, the renowned Manuel Pellegrini, to select a team that he’s most likely to use when they face off with Málaga.
Last season’s Conference League runners-up have a strong squad and many of their players have experience either of playing in England, internationally, or for the ‘big two’ Spanish sides, so we’re in for a tough afternoon.
We're sorry, Enzo pic.twitter.com/fEfNKxS3GZ
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) August 1, 2025
Amongst their ranks are their captain and legendary former Real Madrid and Spain playmaker Isco, former Barcelona defender Marc Bartra, ex-Arsenal right-back Héctor Bellerín, former Leeds United players Diego Llorente, Marc Roca and Junior Firpo, ex-West Ham men Adrián and Pablo Fornals, former Southampton left-back Romain Perraud, ex-Watford forward Cucho Hernández, ex-Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, and countless others – so, whilst we aren’t playing a Premier League side, we are playing a side that has lots of Premier League and top-level experience in it.
Whatever the case may be, Betis are sure to give us a tough afternoon and a good run-out, which is all that matters, really. Performances and results aren’t the be-all and end-all, but a win and some goals would give the fans some optimism heading into the final few weeks of pre-season.
Let’s hope for some Granit Xhaka-inspired fun in the sun!
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