Match Preview: Sunderland v Liverpool — The Party Gets Going In Nashville

TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is available via safc.com.

Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)

Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.sbnation.com!

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Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.sbnation.com!

After our run out at York, it feels like that was the warm-up to the warm-ups, but our fixture against Liverpool has a bit of that feeling about as well.For the fans making the trip across the pond, or US based fans making their way to Nashville, the game itself might feel like the sideshow of the weekend.

The festivities begin on Thursday at Elvis Presley’s famous home Graceland, where Kevin Ball and Kevin Phillips will join fans for “behind-the-scenes access”, that includes a local dining experience thrown in for good measure. Which wasn’t a sentence that I thought I’d ever write if I’m honest.

On Friday there’s a meet-and-greet in the heart of the Music City where fans can meet players and see some live entertainment while they’re at it. And if the fans aren’t too knackered come matchday, there’s a fanzone dedicated to the Lads ahead of kick-off, with Bally & Super Kev on call again to provide entertainment until the footy gets going.

Then on Sunday, there’s an open training session to get to as long as the head isn’t too sore from the night before. There’s a fair chance the ninety minutes of football might actually get in the way of everyone’s fun by the sounds of it. Although, this is the first time we’ve played Liverpool in pre-season – as long as you don’t include the Football League centenary game and closing out Roker Park, which I don’t.

The manager’s comments after the victory at York were interesting in terms of of World Cup stars – “For the players who experienced the World Cup, we will have to build the first layers without much game time at the beginning, with only short periods on the pitch. When we face Lens and Rennes, I hope we have the full squad available” – which tells us a lot about how we’re planning to shape up in the fixtures leading up to Ipswich.

It’s going to be game time, minutes in the legs, with a little bit on patterns of play I’d guess, until we hit the final two games and then we’ll see what our shape and line-up will look like. The other potential highlight of upcoming games could be the new faces we could welcome in the coming week.

• Sunderland wins: 52

• Draws: 39

• Liverpool wins: 79

• Sunderland goals: 226

• Liverpool goals: 285

0-1 Liverpool

Sunderland: Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard, Aldrete (Geertruida), Reinildo, Hume (Talbi), Sadiki, Diarra (Isidor), Le Fee, Angulo (Mundle), Brobbey Substitutes not used: Ellborg, Cirkin, O’Nien, Rigg, Mayenda

Liverpool: Becker, Endo (Gomez), Robertson, Gravenberch, Konate, Van Dijk, Salah, MacAllister, Ekitike (Chiesa), Wirtz, Gakpo (Jones) Substitutes not used: Mamardashvili, Ramsay, Kerkez, Morrison, Nyoni, Ngumoha