Sunderland welcome Grimsby to the Stadium of Light on Tuesday evening as they kick off their Leasing.com Trophy campaign.
The Black Cats will be looking to go one better than last season as they were beaten by Portsmouth in the final in a heartbreaking penalty shootout at Wembley.
Jack Ross will also be looking for a response from his players following Saturday's 2-0 defeat that left them in sixth place in the League One table.
The Scot is likely to make a number of changes for the game before they enjoy a 10-day break without a competitive fixture.
They head into the clash as strong favourites to see of their League Two opposition.
When is Sunderland vs Grimsby?
The match takes place on Tuesday, October 8. The action gets under way at 7:45pm and is one of 16 Leasing.com Trophy group stage matches taking place on Tuesday.
Is Sunderland vs Grimsby on TV? How can I follow it live?
Fans can pay to watch the match on Sunderland's official website. Safc.com will stream the match to UK fans for a £10 match pass and international fans for a £5.99 match pass.
Failing that, you can follow all the action in our live match blog with team news, live updates, reaction and analysis from our writers at the Stadium of Light.
Can you still buy tickets?
Yes, tickets are still available and can be purchased here.
What are the injury concerns? Who is in the teams?
Sunderland will be without Elliot Embleton through injury while Jon McLaughlin, Conor McLaughlin and Tom Flanagan have joined up with their national sides for the international break.
Black Cats midfielder Ethan Robson - who is on loan at Grimsby - is unavailable to play against his parent club.
Sunderland likely XI: Burge; O'Nien, Ozturk, Lynch, Hume; Gooch, Leadbitter, Dobson, McGeady; Grigg, McNulty
Grimsby likely XI: McKeown; Hendrie, Waterfall, Davis, Gibson; Cook, Hessenthaler, Wright, Whitehouse ;Ogbu; Hanson
Who is the referee?
Stephen Martin will be the man in the middle on Tuesday evening.
It is the first time the Staffordshire referee has officiated a Sunderland game this season.
What are the bookies saying?
Sunderland 4/11
Grimsby 7/1
Draw 4/1
