Ipswich v Sunderland team news with up to seven debuts and big fitness decisions | OneFootball

Sunderland begin their Premier League season at Portman Road on Saturday afternoon against newly promoted Ipswich Town, with significant selection calls on both sides.

Ipswich lost head coach Kieran McKenna soon after promotion when he resigned to take a break, and Gary O’Neil has since led an extensive summer rebuild, according to Sunderland Echo.

O’Neil must decide how many debuts to hand out, with up to seven possible from the start. He has confirmed this week’s arrivals from RC Strasbourg, Abdoul Ouattara and Julio Enciso, will be in the squad, and noted that Ouattara is not yet fully match fit.

Régis Le Bris has prioritised continuity at Sunderland and has long signalled a familiar XI on opening day. Even so, he has calls to make around the match fitness of key players.

Thomas Meunier is available. He missed the 2-1 win over Stade Rennais with a back issue but trained last week. With only 45 pre-season minutes, starting him would be a major call, though his overall fitness is good after representing Belgium at the World Cup.

Omar Alderete is available after fully recovering from a knee injury that affected the end of last season and his World Cup with Paraguay. Displacing Luke O’Nien from the XI at this stage would be a surprise.

Nordi Mukiele is fit after missing the last two pre-season games with a minor issue. Le Bris has hinted he might not be ready to start, though he has sprung surprises before.

Florentino Luis, signed from Burnley this summer, missed the final friendly against Union Berlin but has been passed fit for this game. He is expected to start in the defensive midfield role.

Source: Sunderland Echo

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