SUNDERLAND will head to North London on the opening weekend of the Premier League season after being handed an early trip to Arsenal.

The Black Cats will head to the Emirates on August 18 before Championship champions Reading go to the Stadium of Light the following Saturday.

After that there is an early taste of encountering a Liverpool team under the management of Brendan Rodgers when he takes his team to Wearside on September 15.

Ahead of the first Wear-Tyne meeting of the season with Newcastle at Sunderland on October 20, Martin O'Neill must negotiate a fixture with the Premier League champions Manchester City on October 6.

City will also provide Sunderland with the opposition on Boxing Day at the Stadium of Light, which is a repeat of last season's festive date when Ji Dong-Won grabbed a late winner.

On New Year's Day Sunderland will travel across to Merseyside to face Liverpool.

The trip to St James' Park for the return date with rivals Newcastle is scheduled for April 13 - and there will be just five more matches to be played after that.

Sunderland will finish with a home date with promoted Southampton on May 12 and then a tricky trip to Tottenham on May 19.

• For a full look at Sunderland's fixtures for the new season see Tuesday's The Northern Echo.