Football: Babb set to make debut for Black Cats.

Byline: DAMIAN SPELLMAN

FORMER Liverpool player Phil Babb will make his Sunderland debut in France today as Peter Reid's players get a break from their gruelling pre-season training programme.

The 31-year-old defender, signed on a free transfer from Sporting Lisbon, will line up alongside Brazilian Emerson Thome as the Black Cats launch their warmup campaign with a game against Amiens in Le Touquet.

Reid is likely to give as many players as possible an outing, although with keeper Thomas Sorensen yet to return from his post-World Cup break and new signing Thomas Myhre having picked up a thigh injury, Austrian Jurgen Macho could find himself playing 90 minutes.

The game will come as a welcome relief to the players, whohave been put through a punishing three-times-a-day training schedule since jetting out to France last weekend for the first phase of their overseas preparations.

``The lads have worked hard and it has gone well,'' said Reid. ``We've had a good week. We've been up at 7am and trained three times daily. It's been hard work, but the lads have been great and we're looking forward to the game.

``At this stage, matches are not so important and I'll probably give everyone a run out,'' Reid said.

England striker Kevin Phillips will not figure in the game as he continues his recovery from surgery on a groin injury, but he could get a run-out against St Truiden next Sunday when the Wearsiders play the first of three matches in Belgium.

Sunderland will return to England immediately after today's game for another full week of training. Sorensen, Jason McAteer and Kevin Kilbane, who have been given extra time to recover from their World Cup exertions, will return on Monday, while American skipper Claudio Reyna will be back on Wednesday.

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WARM-UP: Babb