Brighton & Hove Albion have opted for the Austrian Alps as their base for initial pre-season training, as they gear up for their debut season in the Premier League.
Chris Hughton's men secured their top-flight status by finishing as Championship runners up last season, behind Newcastle, and preparation has already started to ensure they retain that tag.
Albion have added a number of new faces to their squad and will use their camp to integrate them into the first-team, though will play out the majority of their pre-season friendlies at home in the UK.
Here is the full guide to Brighton's pre-season fixtures.
Next Match
BRIGHTON PRE-SEASON FIXTURES
| Date | Opponent | Time (local / BST) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 14 | Fortuna Dusseldorf | 19:00 / 18:00 | Sportplatz Bischofshofen |
| July 22 | Crawley Town | 15:00 | Checkatrade.com Stadium |
| July 25 | Southend United | 19:45 | Roots Hall |
| July 29 | Norwich City | 15:00 | Carrow Road |
| August 1 | Girona FC | 20:00 / 19:00 | Nou Estadi Municipal de Palamos |
| August 6 | Atletico Madrid | 16:00 | American Express Community Stadium |
The Albion squad arrived in their Austria training camp on July 8 and left on July 15, the day after their first friendly game of the new season. Hughton's beat 2.Bundesliga outfit Fortuna Dusseldorf 2-0 in a neutral arena, before returning to Sussex to tackle local rivals Crawley Town.
The tie at the Checkatrade Stadium marks the first of three games over a seven-day period, with trips to League One Southend United and Championship Norwich City following.
Albion will then travel to Catalonia to face La Liga newcomers Girona, with the tie taking place at Nou Estadi Municipal de Palamos, about an hour's drive north of Barcelona, due to construction at their usual stadium.
'Give us Aguero and you have Sanchez'
The club will then end pre-season with a visit from 2015-16 Champions League runners up Atletico Madrid on home soil on August 6.
Diego Simeone and his team will present Brighton with an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best Europe has to offer, with the likes of Antoine Griezmann set to take part. It will be used as part of a networking exercise, with Hughton spending time with Simeone and the Spaniards taking time to evaluate the club's award-winning facilites.
Though only a friendly, the club have sold over 20,000 tickets to the tie.
WHEN DOES THE SEASON START?
Getty Images
Albion face a true baptism of fire with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City the first to take them on next season.
The early Premier League title favourites travel to the Amex on August 12, a tie which has been selected for TV coverage in the 17:30 slot.
Brighton then face back-to-back away trips, with Leicester and Watford next in line, before returning to home turf to tackle Tony Pulis' West Brom.
Albion will then travel the south coast to take on Bournemouth in another televised fixture on Friday September 15.
