Bent starts for Black Cats

Sunderland striker Darren Bent was passed fit for their Barclays Premier League opener against Birmingham at the Stadium of Light this afternoon.

The 26-year-old picked up a back problem on England duty last week and was rated only 50/50 by manager Steve Bruce ahead of the match.

New signings Simon Mignolet, Nedum Onuoha, Titus Bramble, John Mensah and Ahmed El Mohamady were all in the starting line-up with Paulo Da Silva, Cristian Riveros and Danny Welbeck on the bench.

For the visitors, Ben Foster recovered from his own back problem in time to make his debut in goal but fellow new signing Nikola Zigic was only among the substitutes.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Onuoha, Bramble, Mensah, Richardson, Al-Muhammadi, Cattermole, Henderson, Malbranque, Campbell, Bent.

Subs: Carson, Bardsley, Zenden, Da Silva, Riveros, Welbeck, Waghorn.

Birmingham: Foster, Carr, Ridgewell, Johnson, Dann, Larsson, Bowyer, Ferguson, Fahey, Jerome, O’Connor.

Subs: Taylor, Murphy, Gardner, McFadden, Michel, Zigic, Parnaby.

Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)