Sunderland arrange friendly against League Two side during international break

The Cumbrians are set to travel to the Academy of Light on Monday, September 2 for a behind closed doors fixture.

United boss Steven Pressley confirmed the clash would take place as he looks to hand game time to a number of fringe players.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Pressley said: “We’re playing a bounce game at Sunderland on Monday, which is something that I think quite a lot of the players require.

“That’ll give us a chance to get some gametime for those who haven’t played regularly.”

It is likely that Sunderland will also use the friendly as a chance to hand opportunities to players whose game time has been limited in recent weeks – including new signing Joel Lynch, who hasn’t featured yet this season.