YORK, ENGLAND - JULY 18: Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris watches the game during the Pre-season friendly match between York City and Sunderland at LNER Community Stadium on July 18, 2026 in York, England. (Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images) | Sunderland AFC via Getty ImagesSaturday 25th July 2026Sunderland v Liverpool FriendlyGEODIS Park, NashvilleKick-Off: 23:00 (BST)Tickets & Match CoverageTV/Stream: Full live match coverage is available via safc.com.Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online)Dont 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!The build-upAfter 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 Presleys 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 wasnt a sentence that I thought Id ever write if Im honest.On Friday theres a meet-and-greet in the heart of the Music City where fans can meet players and see some live entertainment while theyre at it. And if the fans arent too knackered come matchday, theres 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, theres an open training session to get to as long as the head isnt too sore from the night before. Theres a fair chance the ninety minutes of football might actually get in the way of everyones fun by the sounds of it. Although, this is the first time weve played Liverpool in pre-season as long as you dont include the Football League centenary game and closing out Roker Park, which I dont.The managers 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 were planning to shape up in the fixtures leading up to Ipswich.Its going to be game time, minutes in the legs, with a little bit on patterns of play Id guess, until we hit the final two games and then well 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.Head to head(All competitive competitions)Sunderland wins: 52Draws: 39Liverpool wins: 79Sunderland goals: 226Liverpool goals: 285Last time we metWednesday 11th February 2026Premier LeagueSunderland 0-1 Liverpool[Van Dijk 61]Sunderland: Roefs, Mukiele, Ballard, Aldrete (Geertruida), Reinildo, Hume (Talbi), Sadiki, Diarra (Isidor), Le Fee, Angulo (Mundle), Brobbey Substitutes not used: Ellborg, Cirkin, ONien, Rigg, MayendaLiverpool: Becker, Endo (Gomez), Robertson, Gravenberch, Konate, Van Dijk, Salah, MacAllister, Ekitike (Chiesa), Wirtz, Gakpo (Jones)Substitutes not used: Mamardashvili, Ramsay, Kerkez, Morrison, Nyoni, NgumohaAttendance: 47,159