Gordon all set for season opener

Craig Gordon has done his first full pre-season with Sunderland

Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon says they are geared up for the visit of Liverpool to the Stadium of Light for Saturday's season opener (1715 BST).

Gordon knows he must face new Liverpool strike pairing Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane but is confident he can cope with the visitors' threat.

"We know the players, and that helps," he told BBC Radio Newcastle. "We all know who we're up against. "It is definitely a difficult one, but one we'll look to do well in."

The Wearsiders have been pitted against three of the busiest spenders this summer in their first three games, in the shape of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

But, with Roy Keane himself adding quality to the ranks at the Stadium of Light, Gordon believes Sunderland are better placed to cope with the pressure.

"There's not many easy games," said Gordon, "whether it's one of the new boys coming up or an established Premier League team, especially first up.

"We've added good quality to the squad and I'm sure the competition for places is a lot stronger now than it was at the start of last season.

"From that point of view we've moved on but we need to do that with results now, start climbing up the table and improve on what we did last season."