Sunderland will compete in the Europa League on Thursday against Portuguese club Torreense, marking their return to European competitive football after 53 years. Their last such fixture was a European Cup Winners’ Cup second-round tie against Sporting in Lisbon.
Torreense, currently 15th in LigaPro, secured their Europa League spot by surprisingly beating Sporting in the Portuguese Cup final last season. They also defeated Lillestrom 2-1 last month.
The match will be held at the 23,888-capacity Estádio Dr Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria, as Torreense's home ground, the Estádio Manuel Marques, does not meet UEFA capacity regulations. Almost 4,000 Sunderland fans are expected to travel for the game.
Sunderland, who have had an underwhelming start to their Premier League campaign with one win, are expected to rotate their squad ahead of a visit to Bournemouth on Sunday. The club recently announced that James Brayne, their set-piece coach, has been replaced by Thor Herdal from Nordsjælland.