Sunderland hope to get pleasure from heat in Portugal after 53 years away

There’s a pleasing symmetry about Sunderland’s Europa League journey to Portugal to face Torreense on Thursday night time. The membership’s final aggressive enterprise on European soil, 53 years in the past, was the second leg of a European Cup Winners’ Cup second-round tie in opposition to Sporting in Lisbon for the FA Cup holders, then within the Second Division.

In a putting parallel, second-tier Torreense prompted widespread shock by beating Sporting within the Portuguese Cup remaining final season. The reward was a spot within the Europa League’s preliminary part and their possibilities of reaching subsequent spring’s sudden-death rounds have been boosted once they beat Lillestrom 2-1 in Norway final month.

Torreense are struggling in LigaPro, the place they sit fifteenth with six factors from seven video games. They face a facet who’ve made an underwhelming opening to the Premier League marketing campaign that includes one win, in opposition to their fellow strugglers Fulham.

With a go to to Bournemouth, who’re eighth, a spot and some extent under Sunderland, on Sunday, Régis Le Bris is anticipated to rotate his squad. Even so, it could be a minor shock if Sunderland fail to beat Torreense.

Torreense’s house floor, the Estádio Manuel Marques in Torres Vedras, 31 miles north of Lisbon, holds 2,431 spectators, dictating it doesn’t meet Uefa capability rules. This has prompted the match being switched to the medieval city of Leiria, an hour’s drive north of Torres Vedras and virtually two hours from the posh Logic resort the place Sunderland are basing themselves after failing to search out appropriate lodging elsewhere.

Almost 4,000 Sunderland followers are travelling to the 23,888-capacity Estádio Dr Magalhães Pessoa, usually the house of second tier União Leiria. With a restricted provide of native resort rooms, some are staying in Lisbon or Porto, whereas others have discovered lodgings in close by cities and villages, together with Fatima. Very a lot a pilgrimage city, Fatima is likely one of the most necessary shrines within the Catholic globe and attracts greater than six million vacationers yearly. As guests from Wearside sightsee in forecast shiny sunshine and 25C, they might be tempted to wish for respite from a harsh north-east winter on the Stadium of Light.

Although Sunderland have performed effectively at occasions this season, the failure to signal a specialist right-winger in the course of the summer season has led to Régis Le Bris steadily fielding two pure right-backs in Trai Hume and Thomas Meunier. Hamstring accidents to Brian Brobbey and Dan Ballard have prompted issues at each ends of the pitch and the beforehand dependable Robin Roefs has suffered just a few untypical goalkeeping wobbles.

Context is required although. Sunderland’s first six league fixtures have been in opposition to the current prime 4 – Manchester City, Arsenal, Brighton and Brentford. Nonetheless, quiet concern will segue into downright panic ought to the subsequent two home video games – at Bournemouth after which at house to Leeds – fail to provide at the very least one win. There can be anxiousness that Malick Fofana, the £30m left-winger signed from Lyon on deadline day who’s struggling to displace the erratic Nilson Angulo, could also be too light-weight for England’s prime tier.

On Tuesday night, Sunderland introduced that their set-piece coach, James Brayne, had left and would get replaced by Thor Herdal. The 34-year-old arrives from Nordsjælland, the place he was head of useless balls and evaluation. He has additionally labored with Denmark’s nationwide group.

Given that Sunderland additionally journey to Poland to face Lech Poznan subsequent Thursday, minimising journey and the attendant fatigue has change into a precedence. It explains why they’ll fly straight from Lisbon to Bournemouth on Friday.

Not that Torreense intend to merely make up the numbers. Back within the membership’s house city, locals are making ready for an annual nationwide day of celebration on 20 October. It commemorates the function performed by an imposing sequence of forts and navy defences inbuilt 1809-10 and referred to as the Lines of Torres Vedras in defending Lisbon from French invaders in the course of the Peninsular battle. Torreense are hoping to exhibit equally stout resistance in opposition to a group led by a Frenchman and staffed closely by French-speaking gamers.

Sunderland have cause to be cautious of Stopira, Torreense’s influential 38-year-old captain and left-back, who performed for Cape Verde at this summer season’s World Cup, and their gifted playmaker João Marques and Ghanaian striker Malik Abubakari. The problem for Sunderland is to make use of this final blast of southern European heat to revitalise a season at risk of unravelling.