SAINTS will travel to Championship side Derby County for a pre-season friendly on Saturday, July 21.

They will face Frank Lampard’s side eight days after returning from a fortnight in China, where they will play German Bundesliga runners-up Schalke and Chinese outfit Jiangsu Suning in the Club Super Cup.

The 3pm kick off at Pride Park comes three weeks before the start of the Premier League season, when Saints will take on Burnley in the curtain raiser on August 11.

Following that Saints will go to France for a training camp before two further friendly matches.

The Rams finished sixth in the Championship last season before losing out to Fulham in the play-off semi-finals, 2-1 on aggregate.

Lampard was appointed as their new manager after Gary Rowett departed.

Saints last met the East Midlands outfit in the 2011/12 promotion season. Rickie Lambert was on target in a 1-1 draw at Pride Park, before Saints ran out 4-0 winners in the return fixture at St Mary’s.

Tickets for the friendly clash are priced as follows: Adults: £15 65+ and Under-18s: £10 Ages 2-12: £5.

Information on sales procedures will be announced in due course.