Follow live coverage as Sunderland face Blackburn Rovers in the Championship today.
An increasingly competitive second tier in English football remains an intense and exciting competition, with the prize of a place in the Premier League on offer at the end of the season.
Relegation from the top flight last term means Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United are all back in the second tier this term and will be expected to push for play-off spots again at least, but so too will Norwich City, an improving Coventry and beaten play-off finalists Leeds United. At the other end of the table, Wayne Rooney is aiming to revive Plymouth’s fortunes after they narrowly avoided relegation last year, with Portsmouth and Derby the teams promoted from League One along with play-off final winners Oxford.
Follow live updates from today’s game in the live blog below.
Sunderland AFC 0 - 1 Blackburn Rovers FC
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:36Substitution, Sunderland. Patrick Roberts replaces Tom Watson.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:35Attempt missed. Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:35Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Dion Sanderson replaces Ryan Hedges.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:35Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Makhtar Gueye replaces Tyrhys Dolan.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:34Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Adam Forshaw replaces Yuki Ohashi.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:31Ryan Hedges (Blackburn Rovers) is shown the yellow card.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:31Alan Browne (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:31Foul by Sondre Tronstad (Blackburn Rovers).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:27Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Kristi Montgomery.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:24Foul by Tom Watson (Sunderland).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:24Substitution, Sunderland. Enzo Le Fée replaces Salis Abdul Samed.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:24Substitution, Sunderland. Eliezer Mayenda replaces Milan Aleksic.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:24Substitution, Sunderland. Chris Rigg replaces Harrison Jones.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:20Attempt blocked. Milan Aleksic (Sunderland) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:20Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Dominic Hyam.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:20Attempt blocked. Tom Watson (Sunderland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Jobe Bellingham.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:18Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:18Delay in match because of an injury Tyrhys Dolan (Blackburn Rovers).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:17Foul by Joe Anderson (Sunderland).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:17Foul by Tom Watson (Sunderland).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:17Substitution, Blackburn Rovers. Kristi Montgomery replaces Callum Brittain.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:18Attempt missed. Wilson Isidor (Sunderland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:17Attempt blocked. Tom Watson (Sunderland) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:12Salis Abdul Samed (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:09Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:09Foul by Dominic Hyam (Blackburn Rovers).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:07Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:05Foul by Yuri Ribeiro (Blackburn Rovers).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:05Alan Browne (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
16:02Second Half begins Sunderland 0, Blackburn Rovers 1.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:47First Half ends, Sunderland 0, Blackburn Rovers 1.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:46Fourth official has announced 1 minutes of added time.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:46Tyrhys Dolan (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:46Foul by Dominic Hyam (Blackburn Rovers).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:45Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Joe Anderson.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:45Attempt blocked. Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Wilson Isidor.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:44Attempt missed. Harrison Jones (Sunderland) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:43Attempt blocked. Luke O'Nien (Sunderland) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Salis Abdul Samed.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:40Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Yuri Ribeiro.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:37Foul by Cauley Woodrow (Blackburn Rovers).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:37Foul by Cauley Woodrow (Blackburn Rovers).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:34Goal! Sunderland 0, Blackburn Rovers 1. Tyrhys Dolan (Blackburn Rovers) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Cauley Woodrow.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:32Attempt missed. Wilson Isidor (Sunderland) left footed shot from the left side of the box.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:30Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Dominic Hyam.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:30Attempt blocked. Wilson Isidor (Sunderland) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Tom Watson.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:29Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Joe Anderson.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:24Yuri Ribeiro (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:23Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Cauley Woodrow.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:23Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Dominic Hyam.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:23Lewis Travis (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:20Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:22Foul by Ryan Hedges (Blackburn Rovers).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:15Attempt missed. Alan Browne (Sunderland) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:14Foul by Tyrhys Dolan (Blackburn Rovers).
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:15Harrison Jones (Sunderland) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:16Attempt saved. Milan Aleksic (Sunderland) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:11Attempt blocked. Tom Watson (Sunderland) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:09Offside, Blackburn Rovers. Yuki Ohashi is caught offside.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:07Offside, Sunderland. Chris Mepham is caught offside.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:05Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Tyrhys Dolan.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:04Attempt saved. Wilson Isidor (Sunderland) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:03Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Sondre Tronstad.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:02Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Danny Batth.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:01Corner, Sunderland. Conceded by Sondre Tronstad.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
15:01First Half begins.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
14:30Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
Sunderland vs Blackburn Rovers
13:00Follow live football coverage with The Independent today.
Whether it's Premier League, Champions League, a European Championship or the World Cup we will keep you up to date with everything you need to know.
We will have all the latest scores, goals and updates plus analysis and reaction throughout the game here.
