Sunderland's squad was hit by an outbreak of gastroenteritis at the end of the week, disrupting Lee Johnson's plan to use this final friendly as a dress-rehearsal ahead of the new season.
Lee Burge and Bailey Wright were the obvious senior absentees, although there were several youngsters who might have been expected to be on the bench who also missed out.
Burge's absence meant that Anthony Patterson started in goal, with Black Cats teenager keeper Adam Richardson included on the bench.
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With no specialist full-backs in the squad, Carl Winchester started at right-back and Dan Neil on the left, with Tom Flanagan and Callum Doyle the central pairing.
Corry Evans and Luke O'Nien played in front of the back four, with Lynden Gooch, Elliot Embleton, and Josh Hawkes behind central striker Ross Stewart.
Alex Pritchard started training this week after recovering from Covid and was not expected to play tonight in any case.
And Aiden McGeady was also not due to be involved after he had an injection in his knee last week, allowing him time to recover before the start of the season.
You can follow all the action as it unfold in our live blog here.
SAFC XI: Patterson, Winchester, Flanagan, Doyle, O'Nien, Embleton, Gooch, Evans, Neil, Hawkes, Stewart
Subs: Richardson, O'Brien, Taylor, Grigg, Diamond, Younger
