Hearts v Sunderland: Kick-off time, how to watch, pre-season friendly details

Hearts welcome Sunderland to Tynecastle Park on Saturday afternoon.
Hearts and Sunderland played out a 2-2 draw in 2003. Picture: SNSHearts and Sunderland played out a 2-2 draw in 2003. Picture: SNS
Hearts and Sunderland played out a 2-2 draw in 2003. Picture: SNS

The Jam Tarts have a weekend off after winning their first two games in the Premier Sports Cup.

Tuesday night saw a confident performance against Cove Rangers, winning 3-0 in front of 2,000 fans at Tynecastle Park. It followed a 2-0 victory at Peterhead.

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League One Sunderland are in Scotland for a pre-season training camp.

Who: Hearts v Sunderland

What: Pre-season friendly.

Where: Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh.

When: Saturday, July 17. Kick-off 3pm.

How to watch

Hearts have made briefs available for 2,000 season-ticket holders, priced at £10 for adults and £5 for concessions. The game will be free to view for those with season tickets aho are unable to attend.

Pay per view is available for supporters and Sunderland fans

Team news

Robbie Neilson confirmed he will make a few changes from the side which defeated Cove Rangers. There were just two alterations between the Peterhead and Cove outing so expectations would be more will be made for the friendly. Armand Gnanduillet missed out with a thigh issue on Tuesday but could be given some minutes if he improves, while Loic Damour could feature having been an unused substitute in the first two games.

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Sunderland will arrive with some familiar faces. Former Celtic attacker Aiden McGeady is a key member of the squad, while the Black Cats signed Ross Stewart from Ross County back in January. There could be a first outing for new recruit Alex pritchard, while Johnson is working on landing Northern Ireland international Corry Evans.

Previous meetings

This will be the 18th fixture between the two clubs. There have been two friendlies since 2000.

The first was in 2003 and ended in a 2-2 draw. Hearts took a 2-0 lead through goals from Phil Stamp and Mark de Vries with Sean Thornton scoring a quick-fire double in the second half.

In 2009 nearly 13,000 were in attendance to see David Obua score in a 1-1 draw. Sunderland’s goal came from Darren Bent who had recently been signed for £10million.

Anything else?

There is a strong connection between Sunderland and Hearts.

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While the Jam Tarts have finished in the top four in the Premiership just once in the past ten seasons, the Black Cats are preparing for their fourth campaign in the English third tier after back-to-back relegations.

Beyond that under performance, the big link is the sale of Craig Gordon in 2007 for a record £9million fee. The goalkeeper played 95 times for Sunderland before injuries took their toll. In 2017 he was given an award for the best save in Premier League history, for a stop he made in a match against Bolton Wanderers.

There will be familiar faces in the Sunderland dugout with the team managed by former Hearts midfielder Lee Johnson and he is assisted by Jamie McAllister who spent two seasons at Tynecastle Park.

Kevin Kyle began his career at the English club, playing across seven seasons. The striker was a popular figure during a brief spell at Hearts.

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