SAINTS will face Preston North End in a pre-season friendly.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's side will travel to Deepdale on Saturday, 20 July [3pm] - just two days before they jet off to Dublin for a week-long training camp.

This announcement finalises their pre-season plans as they get set to prepare for the upcoming Premier League campaign.

Saints will kick the season off against Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday, 10 August, before a wicked run of games at home.

In their opening four matches at St Mary's, they will go up against Liverpool, Manchester United, Bournemouth and Chelsea.

With the addition of Championship side Preston, Hasenhuttl's Saints will be racking up the air miles throughout the summer.

In just a few weeks from now, a handful of players will return to Staplewood to undergo fitness tests ahead of the new season.

Following that, they will travel to Austria on July 7 for a change of scenery before playing SCR Altach on July 14 at 3pm.

Saints will then return to Staplewood for another week, only for them to be split up at the end of it after the Preston fixture.

Hasenhuttl and his assistant, Danny Rohl, along with a handful of first team players will make a quick trip to China to play a friendly against Guangzhou in front of club owner Gao Jisheng on July 23.

The members of the squad not selected for China will have already travelled to Dublin on July 22 for a training camp that will run until July 27.

From there Saints will fly direct to Holland to play Feyenoord before returning home for a two-week stint at Staplewood.

During that time, there will be a game against FC Koln at St Mary’s on August 3 as the final warm-up fixture before their Premier League season starts against Burnley.