Visionhaus/Getty Images
So, here it is, the final weekend of pre-season preparations. Regis Le Bris’ lads take on a Saturday-Sunday double-header away at Bundesliga outfit, Augsburg, followed by another showing at the Stadium of Light against LaLiga side, Rayo Vallecano.
The off-season has flown by, such has been the sheer volume of activity in and around the club, with over £110m spent on eight new faces, technical acquisitions, and stadium refurbishments. Naturally, it’s our activity in the transfer market that has become the main talking point; this past week has been no different, either, after the club confirmed the loan signing of Chelsea forward Marc Guiu, announced the contract extensions of Le Bris and Eliezer Mayenda, and look to be on the verge of sealing a deal for left-back Arthur Masuaku.
This weekend’s set of games will be the first time Sunderland have played either Augsburg or Vallecano, but with the former in the lower mid-table bracket and latter reaching for the upper echelons in their respective leagues, they’ll allow us to assess how far we’ve come as a group over the last 5 weeks, and certainly give us some much-needed progress markers.
After getting our first glimpse of Granit Xhaka, Dobin Roeds, and Reinildo in the famous red and white last week, we could see Guiu make his Sunderland debut in one of the two games. Additionally, we may also witness Wilson Isidor and Christina Rigg in action, having both missed the entirety of pre-season thus far.
SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - AUGUST 2: Granit Xhaka of Sunderland pointing during the pre-season friendly match between Sunderland and Real Betis at Stadium of Light on August 2, 2025 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images)
With our eagerly anticipated Premier League curtain-raiser against West Ham just a week away, we’re likely to ramp up both intensity and general preparation across this weekend’s friendly offerings. We’ll also certainly see Le Bris’ workings out as he begins to make sense of this newly assembled squad, and the names likely to appear in the starting eleven come 2pm next Saturday.
With Augsburg featuring in their own double-header, having played Italian side Pisa on Friday night, the Germans will undoubtedly be seeking to end their 2025-26 preparations on a high note before a DFB-Pokal tie with Hallescher next week. Amongst their ranks are former Dortmund man, Marius Wolf, ex Huddersfield forward Steve Mounie, and Kevin Schlotterbeck, the brother of German international, Nico. While little is known of the Bavarian’s capabilities, a win over Crystal Palace last week provides a solid indication of their competitiveness and the test they pose us.
AUGSBURG, GERMANY - AUGUST 6: Steve Mounie of FC Augsburg poses during the team presentation on August 6, 2025 at the WWK Arena in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by Philipp Guelland/Getty Images)
In the case of Rayo Vallecano, the Spaniards finished an impressive eighth last term, sealing a Europa Conference League spot on the final day of the season. Los Franjirrojos boast one standout name in their arsenal, Etienne Eto’o; the son of Barcelona legend, Samuel. If that doesn’t make you feel old, his age will - he’s 22. Aside from boasting the son of footballing royalty, the Spanish side also have Unai Lopez, formerly of Athletic Bilbao, turning out for them. As their league position last season would attest, Vallecano are a well-drilled and smartly run club looking to build on a memorable campaign.
While these results have little bearing on what we produce during the season ahead, going into what is going to be an arduous campaign on the back of positive performances (and hopefully results) would be no bad thing.