Sunderland welcome familiar faces as Wigan Athletic travel to Wearside

The League One season gets underway with two of the promotion favourites facing off at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland host Wigan Athletic.

Sunderland lost in the play-offs last campaign while Wigan finished 20th, just above the relegation zone, but while the Black Cats have struggled to add new faces, the Latics have added many, including three who were on Wearside last season in Max Power, Charlie Wyke and Jordan Jones.

Both sides will be hoping to get their season off to a perfect start, but they are still short of where they would like to be heading into the season.

New signings are expected over the rest of the month before the window closes, and so this game will not be a reflection of the best either side has to offer, not that you should ever read too much into one game in any case.

However, there are still three points up for grabs, and a win for either side would give them an edge over the other going forward. Wigan will be keen to prove they can compete near the top of the league, and Max Power and Charlie Wyke may feel like they have a point to prove having not been popular with Sunderland fans despite Wyke’s 30 goal tally last season.

Sunderland meanwhile will have a more youthful look about them, with Elliot Embleton, Dan Neil and Callum Doyle all expected to start, but in Aidan McGeady and Corry Evans, they should still have some experienced heads on the pitch too.

Having made fewer new signings could also benefit the team more likely to have a better understanding of each other and to have gelled already, which could hold Wigan back in the early weeks of the season.

One player who may feature, and who could have a say in how the game goes, is former Wigan and now Sunderland striker Will Grigg.

While all the focus pre-match has been on Wyke, Power and Jones, the former Latics frontman scored a late winner for Sunderland in their final pre-season game against Hull City, and if given the chance, he could go on to play a part in deciding this game too.

Despite Wigan’s struggles last season, they did the double over Sunderland. Winning 1-0 at the Stadium of Light in what was Lee Johnson’s first game in charge of Sunderland, before winning 2-1 in Lancashire in April.

Before last season, the sides were neck and neck when it comes to the head-to-head record, with seven wins apiece and seven draws in 21 matches, although Wigan do now lead that with nine wins from 23.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt