It's back!

After three months away, competitive football returns to England tonight as the 2017-18 Championship season gets underway with relegated Sunderland taking on Derby County at the Stadium of Light. Pre-season games and minor international tournaments have just about carried us through the summer, but I know I'm not alone in welcoming the league season back with open arms. Both of these clubs will be desperate to get off to a winning start tonight, with promotion ultimately the goal for Simon Grayson and Gary Rowett this season, but before we take a closer look at them let's first check out the team news...

SUNDERLAND STARTING XI: Steele; Jones, Browning, Kone, Galloway; Cattermole, Ndong, Honeyman, McGeady, Vaughan; Grabban

SUNDERLAND SUBS: Ruiter, O'Shea, Asoro, Gibson, Matthews, Khazri, Gooch

DERBY STARTING XI: Carson; Forsyth, Keogh, Davies, Wisdom; Russell, Huddlestone, Butterfield, Johnson, Weimann; Martin

DERBY SUBS: Mitchell, Bryson, Baird, Pearce, Bennett, Vydra, Nugent

Debuts galore! There are plenty of news faces on either side to get you up to speed with, but let's start with the hosts - and you could be forgiven for thinking this was an entirely different club starting tonight's match compared to the one which began their final game of the Premier League season last term. Only two players - Billy Jones and Lee Cattermole - survive from the team that was beaten by champions Chelsea on the final day following a summer of upheaval at the Stadium of Light.

Simon Grayson's first competitive team selection as Sunderland boss sees him hand debuts to no fewer than six players, with substitute goalkeeper Ruiter the only new arrival not to be included in the starting lineup tonight. That is because fellow summer signing Steele gets the gloves in goal, and they are big gloves to fill following the exit of Pickford to Everton. Indeed, Everton have had a big role to play in Sunderland's transfer window so far, and Browning and Galloway both start in defence having joined on loan from Goodison Park.

Aiden McGeady is another to have made the switch from the blue half of Merseyside, although his is a permanent deal having spent time out on loan last season. He starts in the attacking trio in midfield alongside Honeyman and another new arrival Vaughan, while Cattermole and Ndong operate in a slightly deeper role. That duo are two of only five players in this Sunderland starting XI who were at the club last season.

If Steele in goal thinks that he has a hard act to follow, he should try replacing Jermain Defoe up front. Defoe was largely responsible for keeping Sunderland in the division a couple of seasons ago, but despite his best efforts he couldn't do the same last term despite another impressive goalscoring campaign. A clause in his contract allowed him to leave the club on a free this summer, and his replacement is Lewis Grabban, who has joined on loan from Bournemouth - where Defoe is now playing, incidentally.

Like his Sunderland counterpart, Gary Rowett has not hesitated to include his new arrivals in the starting XI tonight either, with all three of the club's summer signings named in the lineup for this one. Two of them are returning to the iPro Stadium, though, with Andre Wisdom and Tom Huddlestone making their second debuts for the club tonight. Wisdom spent a season on loan from Liverpool a few years ago, while Huddlestone began his career here and returns following Hull's relegation last term.

The other debutant for the Rams tonight is Curtis Davies, who also joined from Hull this summer. The experienced central defender is thrown straight into the starting lineup alongside the likes of Keogh, Forsyth and Wisdom, while former Liverpool and England goalkeeper Scott Carson keeps his place in goal. He is one of only two players from that back five to do so from the final game of last season, though, along with Keogh.

In midfielder, Russell, Butterfield and Johnson all start having also been in the side for the final game of last season, but it is an area of the field which has seen some changes for Derby this summer due to the exits of Ince and Hughes. Huddlestone is, of course, one of the replacements - albeit a slightly different ilk of player - and Andreas Weimann also comes into the starting lineup for this one.

Goals were a big problem for Derby last season, and with Bent out until Christmas with a hamstring injury the main goalscoring burden will fall on the shoulders of Chris Martin again this season. He leads the line this evening, but there is support on the bench from Matej Vydra - who passed a late fitness test for this game - and Nugent.

Whether that is enough to prevent Derby from getting off to a similarly poor goalscoring start this season remains to be seen, but the Rams will certainly be hoping that there is some relegation hangover for Sunderland. There is no nice way of putting it - the Black Cats were dreadful last season and fully deserved to finish bottom of the pile. They had flirted with relegation for so long, surviving by the skin of their teeth for so long, and interesting the one season where they didn't change manager proved to be the one where they suffered the drop.

Sunderland have changed manager since the end of the season, though, with David Moyes being replaced in the hot seat by former Leeds and Preston boss Simon Grayson. It has been a summer of upheaval at the Stadium of Light, and the manager has not only had to settle in himself, but he has also had to try to gel together a squad which is vastly different from the one that finished the season just a few months ago. The likes of Anichebe, Kirchhoff, Larsson, Lescott, Pienaar, Defoe, Borini, Mannone and Pickford have all gone, which is a large chunk of their first team.

Hence the number of new faces in that starting lineup this evening. The Black Cats have only made four permanent signings this summer, bringing in McGeady, Vaughan, Steele and Ruiter, but they have also made use of the loan market and will hope to see the likes of Galloway, Browning and Grabban give them a bit more pace going forward. Grabban in particular will be important, but he has a proven record of scoring at this level and will be desperate to take his chance again.

After such a disastrous campaign last term, which saw them finish a full 16 points from safety, Sunderland's pre-season form has been pretty mixed too and their last outing saw them thrashed 5-0 by Scottish champions Celtic - not the best final warm-up game for the new season. It has been a busy summer for them on the pitch as well as off it, playing no fewer than eight pre-season friendlies, winning three of those, drawing two and losing three.

The opposition has not been the greatest in that time either, and if Sunderland needed reminding of the difference between the Premier League and the Champions League, they probably got it when organising pre-season games against the likes of Bury, Hartlepool and Bradford when one year ago they will facing Borussia Dortmund and Montpellier. Worryingly, Sunderland have conceded 16 goals from their pre-season games this summer too, keeping just one clean sheet.

This will be Sunderland's first Championship outing for more than a decade having been in the Premier League ever since their last promotion in 2006-07. Grayson's side have been handed a pretty difficult start too, with each of their first four games coming against teams that finished in the top nine last season. After tonight's match, Sunderland will face Norwich, Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United in their next three league fixtures.

The first objective to tick off their list this season - and they will hope it comes today - is a home win. Sunderland have failed to win a single game in front of their own fans so far in 2017, with their last victory at the Stadium of Light coming 230 days ago. They have lost six and drawn five of their 11 home games since the turn of the year, and in their last 10 then have only managed to score three goals - drawing blanks on eight occasions. Unsurprisingly they had the worst home record in the Premier League last season, accruing just 14 points from 19 games.

Derby's away form was not spectacular either, and they too have struggled for victories on the road so far this calendar year. In the 12 away Championship matches they have played so far in 2017, Derby have won just two and lost eight, failing to even score in seven of those. The lack of goals from both teams does not bode well for a high-scoring match tonight, but Derby have also failed to keep a clean sheet on the road in a competitive match since January 31, when they beat Ipswich 3-0.

Across all competitions Derby lost just one of their final 10 away games last season, losing seven of those from the end of January. The Rams would have still finished 11th in the table if only away form counted, though, so they were by no means the worst offenders in the division. Only six teams conceded fewer on the road last term, although at the same time only five teams in the entire division scored fewer too.

As I alluded to a little earlier, it was scoring goals which proved to be Derby's biggest problem last term. They were the lowest scorers in the top half with just 54 goals, and incredibly only found the back of the net once in their opening seven league fixtures - a marker I'm sure they will want to quickly pass this time around. Rowett's side could have been handed an easier start to the season, though, with two of the newly-relegated teams to come in their opening six fixtures.

Having said that, Derby don't actually come up against a side who finished above them in the Championship table last season until October 21, when they face Sheffield Wednesday in their 13th match of the season. That sparks a difficult run of games though - at least based on last season's positions - with Derby taking on five teams who finished above them last term in a row after that.

Derby's performance in the Championship last season was disappointing once again, to the extent that Steve McClaren was sacked for a second time by the club in March. Gary Rowett took over but was unable to make a late push for the playoffs, eventually finishing ninth in the standings and 13 points adrift of sixth. Considering the Rams were 16 points away from the relegation zone too, they will certainly want to close the gap to those playoff places this season.

It all started well for Derby in pre-season with victories over Kidderminster, Macclesfield and Kaiserslautern without conceding a single goal, scoring eight along the way. However, they have since lost their last two outings, being beaten by Northampton Town and Hoffenheim. In truth, though, a 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim - who will face Liverpool in the Champions League playoff round later this month - is by no means an embarrassing result considering they finished fourth in the Bundesliga last season.

Gary Rowett has been a good omen on the opening days of previous seasons, though, going unbeaten in his last four matches at the start of a campaign, with two wins and two draws. The former Birmingham boss has had a chance to really look at his side now having taken over in March, and Derby fans are optimistic that he could lead them to a playoff charge as he looked like doing for Birmingham before his sudden departure last season. He won four, drew three and lost two of his nine games in charge of the Rams towards the end of last season.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff in the 2017-18 Championship season, so it's time for a prediction! The unfamiliar nature of this Sunderland side makes it a tough game to call tonight - they have players who are good enough to thrive in the Championship, but whether or not it will take time for them to gel remains to be seen. Derby have a good manager and promotion ambitions of their own this season, and I'm backing them to come away with a 1-1 draw tonight.

This is the first meeting between these two sides since March 2008, when Derby were last in the Premier League. That particular game ended in a 0-0 draw, but the Rams' most recent visit to the Stadium of Light ended in defeat as an Anthony Stokes goal in the 90th minute handed Sunderland a last-gasp victory in December 2007.

Derby have actually never won in seven previous visits to the Stadium of Light, and you have to go all the way back to December 1990 for their last away triumph over Sunderland at any ground. That came at Roker Park when Dean Saunders and Mick Harford got the goals in a 2-1 victory, since when Derby have drawn five and lost eight of their visits to this corner of the North-East.

Home and away, Sunderland are unbeaten in their last 10 meetings with Derby, winning six and drawing four of those. Derby's last win over the Black Cats came in February 2001, while their most recent victory in this fixture when both sides have been in the second tier was back in 1995, since when Sunderland have won all five of their second-tier clashes.

We're just a few minutes away from the start of the season now! There is one other Championship match on tonight as Nottingham Forest host newly-promoted Millwall. I will keep you updated with all the major goings-on there, but the main focus will be on the Stadium of Light so, before we kick off, let's have a reminder of the two teams...

SUNDERLAND STARTING XI: Steele; Jones, Browning, Kone, Galloway; Cattermole, Ndong, Honeyman, McGeady, Vaughan; Grabban

DERBY STARTING XI: Carson; Forsyth, Keogh, Davies, Wisdom; Russell, Huddlestone, Butterfield, Johnson, Weimann; Martin

Before we get started, we will have a minute's applause in memory of Bradley Lowery, who sadly passed away earlier this summer. Impeccably observed by all inside the Stadium of Light.

KICKOFF! Here we go then! The 2017-18 Championship season is underway as Sunderland kick us off against Derby. The crowd inside the Stadium of Light is sparse, to put it politely.

Sunderland have been quick to get on the front foot here, looking to make a quick start to their first home game of the campaign. These fans have not had much to shout about here in recent years, but it has been a positive start from the hosts here.

Vaughan has the first tentative penalty appeal of the season, going down just inside the area and claiming that he had been pulled to the ground by Huddlestone. It is an ambitious appeal, though, and the referee pays it little heed.

Good play from Galloway down the left as he skips past one man before playing a ball into the box which Huddlestone turns behind for a corner.

Derby make a mess of clearing the resulting delivery and the ball drops loose inside the area, but Huddlestone is again there to knock it behind for another Sunderland corner.

CHANCES! A few chances in quick succession for Sunderland! Honeyman is play in down the right channel and gets to the ball before Carson, who is left in no-man's land. Honeyman's chip past the keeper is not going in, but it finds McGeady at the back post and Wisdom is called into a huge block to deny the debutant. The danger still is not gone, though, and the ball loops back up into another dangerous area where Grabban lashes a difficult volley over.

It is completely against the run of play, but the first goal of the new Championship season belongs to Derby and Bradley Johnson! It is really poor defending from Galloway as he allows Russell to skip inside far too easily, and from there the Derby man plays a pass across the face of goal. It takes a deflection on the way through, but that only helps to take it into the path of Johnson, who is left with a simple finish.

That will be a tough one to take for Sunderland, who will feel that nothing is going right for them right now. They had made a good, positive start to this match, but now they find themselves behind.

That goal seems to have sparked Derby into life too. They were on the back foot for the opening 10 minutes of this game, but they have seen most of the possession and territory since taking the lead. Just like that, any optimism seems to have been sapped out of this Sunderland crowd.

Sunderland look to respond with a couple of attacks down the right flank, but Derby do a good job of preventing any crosses from coming into their box. Better from the hosts, though.

SAVE! Almost a lovely second for Derby as the ball is played in for Martin, who chests it down for Huddlestone. We know how well he can strike a ball, and he drills one towards the bottom corner here which Steele has to get down to save. The keeper spills the effort, though, and Browning does well to hold off Butterfield and prevent him from tucking home the rebound.

Steele really got away with one there, and it Browning hadn't been so alert then it would have been 2-0 to Derby and suddenly Sunderland would have had a mountain to climb. The volume inside the Stadium of Light has certainly lowered since the opening 10 minutes.

Chance for Sunderland to get back into this game as Galloway wins a free kick in a good crossing position...

CHANCE! Magnificent save from Carson to keep Derby ahead! The delivery into the box is once again not dealt with by Derby and this time the ball drops to Cattermole, who must think that he has scored when he drills a powerful strike towards the top corner from inside the box. Carson throws up a left hand and push it behind for a corner, though. Brilliant stop.

Derby have really struggled with aerial balls into the box so far tonight. Almost every set piece has caused them problems in this opening half an hour or so.

We're half an hour into the new season now, and so far Gary Rowett will be the happier of the two managers. Derby have not had things all their own way - and Sunderland will feel that they should at least be level - but that Johnson goal remains the difference as things stand.

Sunderland are still seeing a decent amount of the ball at the moment, but given everything that has happened to them in recent seasons they could be forgiven for already thinking that it may not be their night.

Just to indulge you Derby County fans while the opportunity is there - the Rams are currently top of the league!

Shooting chance for Vaughan from just outside the Derby box, but he doesn't catch his effort right and drags it well wide of the target.

Ndong is the latest to have a sight of goal, but his strike ends up in a similar position to that of Vaughan's, dragging the first-time strike well wide.

CLOSE! Another shooting chance for Sunderland! Again it comes from Derby failing to adequately deal with a lofted ball into the box as this time Davies can only clear it as far as Grabban on the edge. He unleashes a powerful first-time strike, but it whizzes narrowly over the crossbar.

Sunderland have created more chances than Derby so far tonight, but when it comes to shots on target the Rams are still leading 2-1. Sunderland have not made the most of their opportunities when they have arisen.

Sunderland have the equaliser just before half time as Lewis Grabban tucks home from the penalty spot! It is an unfortunate one for Butterfield, who loses his balance on the edge of the box and, while trying to get something on the ball, it bounces up and hits his arm. The rest of the Derby players complain, but Butterfield himself is sheepishly quiet as he knows. Grabban duly steps up to the kick and tucks it confidently into the bottom corner.

UPDATE: There has also been a goal in the other Championship match taking place tonight, where Barrie McKay has given Nottingham Forest the lead against Millwall.

There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.

The opening 45 minutes of the Championship season come to an end, then, and we're all square at the halfway stage between Sunderland and Derby. The hosts have had the better of things for the most part, but they needed a penalty to level things up just before half time. Derby have not been at their best, but this one could still go either way in the coming 45 minutes.

Derby took the lead after just 11 minutes, but their opener came against the run of play having been on the back foot for the opening 10 minutes. Russell was the creator, beating Galloway too easily down the right flank to get in behind the defence and play a low ball across the face of goal. Bradley Johnson was waiting at the far post and made no mistake with his simple finish from close range.

Sunderland levelled things up with three minutes remaining of the first half as Grabban marked his debut with a goal from the penalty spot. It was a haphazard piece of play from Butterfield as he lost his balance inside the area and stumbled into the ball with his arm to give away the spot kick. Grabban confidently tucked his effort into the bottom corner to give send Sunderland into the break all square, and deservedly so too.

It is the Black Cats who have had the majority of the chances in the match so far, with Honeyman, McGeady, Cattermole and Grabban all threatening during that opening 45 minutes. Derby, by contrast, have only really had two notable sights of goal - one of which was the opener. Shortly after that Huddlestone drilled a long-range effort towards goal which was spilled by the keeper, but Butterfield could not tuck away the rebound.

KICKOFF: Derby get us back underway for the second half here at the Stadium of Light!

Steele gets a hand to a cross from the left flank which looked like it was going behind for a goal kick anyway. Better safe than sorry for the goalkeeper.

CLOSE! Having scored in the closing stages of the first half, Sunderland almost get a second in the opening stages of the second. Honeyman's first-time shot is blocked but falls to Vaughan, who sends his rebound effort inches past the post. So close for the hosts.

Sunderland have started this second half brightly as well, but they will be all too aware of what happened after their positive start in the first. Can they make it count this time?

Cattermole slices an effort from around 25 yards, but Honeyman is able to get a toe to it which takes it on target rather than out towards the corner flag. There is no power in it, though, and the keeper collects it comfortably.

Almost a chance for Derby to get in behind at the other end as a mistake from Ndong allows Russell to reach the byline, but Kone is there to put it behind for a corner.

OFF THE LINE! Keogh rises well to meet the resulting corner and his header looks destined for the top corner, but Cattermole has dropped back onto the post and nods it behind from on the line.

Derby want a penalty from the following corner as Kone drags Davies to the floor, and the replays show that they have a very good claim. The officials missed one there!

OFF THE POST! Sunderland are so close to taking the lead! It is brilliant from Cattermole as he pounces on a loose ball inside the Derby half, driving through on goal. The skipper clearly doesn't fancy it himself and instead lays the ball off for Grabban, who lets it run across his body before cannoning an effort against the post.

Sunderland will be wondering how they are not ahead as he approach the hour mark. They deserve to be leading this one, and at this stage of the game you'd have to think that Derby are the happier of the two teams with the 1-1 scoreline.

Johnson tries to double his personal tally for the evening from a lot further out than his first goal, letting fly from range. He slices his effort badly, though, and it flies a long way off target.

SAVE! This time it is Russell who tries his luck from range, going for goal from all of 30 yards out. This effort is on target, but it is easy for Steele to gather.

DERBY SUB: The first change of the night comes from the visitors as Matej Vydra replaces Weimann.

The match has entered a bit of a lull here as both sides gear up for presumably a late push in the final 20 minutes. The onus will be on Sunderland more than Derby, though, as an away draw against a newly-relegated side is not a bad result for the Rams.

UPDATE: It is still 1-0 in the other match of the night, by the way, which means that as things stand Forest will sit top of the Championship table at the end of the night.

Derby have been growing into the half as it has worn on, enjoying more of the ball inside the Sunderland half. Not many chances to speak of for either side right now, though.

CHANCE! I knew that was a way to guarantee a chance! It is a golden one for Derby as Vydra attracts the defenders to him before slipping it pass to Martin, who has time and space inside the box. It is the type of chance he usually snaps up, but this time he loses his balance and puts a terrible effort well off target.

Just 15 minutes remain in this season opener now - will any side take the risk to push for a winner here or will they be content to settle for a draw on the opening day?

Sunderland want another penalty here as Vaughan goes down in the area when trying to get on the end of a cross from McGeady. Not for the first time today, though, he went to ground far too easily and the referee says no.

DERBY SUB: Another change for the visitors as David Nugent replaces Martin.

Chance for Derby as they win a free kick in a dangerous position, but Vydra's effort goes straight into the wall.

SHOT! Good work from Vaughan as he wins the ball back inside the Derby half, which in turn sees McGeady given the chance to shoot. He lets fly from range, but his effort zips past the far post.

Important defending from Ndong as he sweeps up behind the defence to dispossess Vydra just as it looked as though the forward might have snuck into a dangerous position.

Honeyman gets in behind the full-back and reaches the byline, but immediately he is surrounded by three defenders and Keogh is in the right place to intercept the cross.

CHANCE! Chance for Sunderland to get what may well have been a late winner! Jones completely mishits a shot from the edge of the box, but it is so bad that it turns into a good pass for Grabban out wide. The goalscorer puts the ball into the middle, but Cattermole mistimes his volley and can't turn the ball home from close range.

It is Sunderland who are pushing for the winner in these closing stages here, as you might expect from the hosts.

YELLOW CARD! The first card of the match comes with one minute of normal time remaining, and he can have no complaints. It is a poor, heavy and late challenge on Keogh.

DERBY SUB: A third and final change for Derby sees Russell replaced by Craig Bryson.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this match.

SHOT! Late shooting chance for Derby as Wisdom's cross is only cleared as far as Johnson, who flashes an effort wide of the far post from the edge of the box.

CHANCE! Big chance for Derby to grab the winner as Bryson nods the ball back to Nugent, but he completely misses his kick! He almost has a second bite at the cherry, but Steele is out quickly to thwart him.

It is honours even in the Championship curtain-raiser, then, as Sunderland and Derby share a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland may feel that they should have won the game - they certainly had the chances too - but ultimately they have to settle for a point in their first Championship game for more than a decade. Derby took the lead through Bradley Johnson early on, but Lewis Grabban's penalty was enough to earn the home side a point.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Sunderland and Derby County kick off the new Championship season with a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to keep an eye out for reaction on site too. The EFL gets underway in earnest tomorrow, and we will have coverage of the opening Saturday, so be sure to check back for that. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!