Sunderland travel to Portugal to face Torreense in the Europa League on Thursday night, their first competitive European away match in 53 years. The club's last venture on European soil was the second leg of a European Cup Winners' Cup tie against Sporting in Lisbon in 1971, when they were FA Cup holders and playing in the Second Division.
Torreense's surprise cup run
Torreense, who play in the second tier of Portuguese football, caused a major surprise by beating Sporting in the Portuguese Cup final last season. That victory earned them a place in the Europa League's initial phase, and their chances of reaching the knockout rounds were boosted by a 2-1 win at Lillestrom in Norway last month.
Torreense currently sit 15th in LigaPro with six points from seven games. They face a Sunderland side who have made an underwhelming start to the Premier League campaign, with just one win, against fellow strugglers Fulham.
Venue switch and fan travel
Torreense's home ground, the Estádio Manuel Marques in Torres Vedras, 31 miles north of Lisbon, holds only 2,431 spectators and does not meet Uefa capacity regulations. As a result, the match has been moved to the medieval town of Leiria, an hour's drive north of Torres Vedras and almost two hours from the luxury Lisbon hotel where Sunderland are based after failing to find suitable accommodation elsewhere.
Almost 4,000 Sunderland fans are travelling to the 23,888-capacity Estádio Dr Magalhães Pessoa, normally the home of second-tier União Leiria. With limited local hotel rooms, some supporters are staying in Lisbon or Porto, while others have found lodgings in nearby towns and villages, including Fatima, a major Catholic pilgrimage site that attracts more than six million tourists a year. Visitors from Wearside may enjoy forecast bright sunshine and 25C temperatures.
Sunderland's struggles and squad issues
Sunderland have played well at times this season, but the failure to sign a specialist right-winger during the summer has led Régis Le Bris to frequently field two natural right-backs in Trai Hume and Thomas Meunier. Hamstring injuries to Brian Brobbey and Dan Ballard have caused problems at both ends of the pitch, and the previously reliable Robin Roefs has suffered a few untypical goalkeeping wobbles.
Sunderland's first six league fixtures have been against the present top four – Manchester City, Arsenal, Brighton and Brentford. Quiet concern will turn to panic should the next two domestic games – at Bournemouth and then at home to Leeds – fail to produce at least one win. There is also anxiety that Malick Fofana, the £30m left-winger signed from Lyon on deadline day who is struggling to displace the erratic Nilson Angulo, may be too lightweight for England's top tier.
On Tuesday evening, Sunderland announced that their set-piece coach, James Brayne, had left and would be replaced by Thor Herdal. The 34-year-old arrives from Nordsjælland, where he was head of dead balls and analysis, and has also worked with Denmark's national team.
Travel and opposition
Sunderland also travel to Poland to face Lech Poznan next Thursday, so minimising travel and fatigue has become a priority. They will fly straight from Lisbon to Bournemouth on Friday.
Torreense do not intend to merely make up the numbers. Back in the club's home town, locals are preparing for an annual national day of celebration on 20 October, commemorating the Lines of Torres Vedras, a series of forts built in 1809-10 that defended Lisbon from French invaders during the Peninsular War. Torreense are hoping to demonstrate similarly stout resistance against a team led by a Frenchman and staffed heavily by French-speaking players.
Sunderland have reason to be wary of Stopira, Torreense's influential 38-year-old captain and left-back, who played for Cape Verde at this summer's World Cup, and their gifted playmaker João Marques and Ghanaian striker Malik Abubakari. The challenge for Sunderland is to use this last blast of southern European warmth to revitalise a season in danger of unravelling.
