[h=1]Preview: Sunderland vs Manchester United[/h]
Date, time and coverage: Sunday 24 August,18:00 AET. SS3 ZA , IRB TV IRAN, SUPERSPORT MAXIMO 1 ZA, BEIN SPORT 11 HD MENA
Form guide: The Louis van Gaal era began in disappointing fashion last weekend as Swansea City recorded a shock 2-1 win at Old Trafford, a result that brought Manchester United fans back down to earth following a hugely successful pre-season tour of America. The Reds must now respond and head to Sunderland, hoping to maintain the positive away form that yielded 34 points from 57 on the road. However, the Black Cats are much-improved under Gustavo Poyet and head into this match on the back of an encouraging 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion. Memories of last term's Capital One Cup semi-final success over United are also fresh in the mind at the Stadium of Light.
Ins and outs: New-signing Marcos Rojo could make his debut after signing for United on Wednesday.Robin van Persie, Danny Welbeck, Antonio Valencia and Jonny evans could also return after training on Thursday. Jesse Lingard is unlikely to feature after limping out of Saturday's curtain-raiser, while Luke
Shaw and Michael Carrick are injured. Sunderland are expected to be without Billy Jones (hamstring) and Emanuele Giaccherini (groin), as well as midfielder Santiago Vergini.
Last meeting: On 3 May, Ryan Giggs suffered his first defeat as interim manager after Sebastian Larsson's first half volley helped Sunderland clinch a
1-0 win that all-but secured their Premier League survival. After the match, the Welshman lamented United's poor form at Old Trafford: "I feel flat, the players were flat and I don't know why. Our home form's not been good enough."
Star man: Connor Wickham's good form at the end of last season was widely credited for keeping Sunderland in the top-flight, having returned from a successful loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday to win the Premier League Player of the Month award for April. Much is expected of the youngster this term, although the Black Cats must fend off interest from West Ham and other reported suitors.
Opposition boss: Perhaps unsurprisingly, manager Gustavo Poyet has claimed the summer transfer window should close at the start of the season because the current system is disruptive to teams who are susceptible to offers from bigger clubs. "I am a believer that we need to stop the transfer window before we start the season. Steven Fletcher and Connor Wickham are getting used to playing together and they like to play together. So I can see that they play with us and they have got a place in the team and they stay. When someone offers money for a player, you cannot stop that. I know it sounds typical but there are offers that no one in the world can refuse."
Quote/unquote: "It was a disastrous start for us, but we have to move on. We're not happy, the manager's not happy. We'll have to go through what went wrong during the week. We'll do that. I thought we didn't play as well together as a team as we can do. We have to put that right." - Wayne Rooney
Rivals watch: Chelsea face
Leicester City at Stamford on Saturday before Everton welcome Arsenal to Goodison Park in the tea-time kick-off. On Monday evening,
Manchester City welcome Liverpool for an early season barnstormer at the Etihad Stadium.
Whistle-blower: The Premier League have announced Martin Atkinson as the referee for Sunday's match at the Stadium of Light. Stephen Child and Harry Lennard will be his assistants, while Phil Dowd is on fourth official duties.