Sean Dyche's Burnley begin an exciting set of pre-season fixtures against Shamrock Rovers on Friday evening. The Clarets will take on sides from Ireland, England, Spain and Germany before the start of the 2017/18 campaign.
Trio of new faces looking to gel
After several days working predominantly on fitness as a boot camp in Dublin, Dyche is likely to utilise a number of players in Shamrock on Friday. New signings Charlie Taylor, Jon Walters and Jack Cork could all play a part after working with their new teammates in Ireland throughout the week.
The Clarets then prepare for a double-header against Football League North sides Kidderminster Harriers and Alfreton Town next Saturday. The former narrowly missed out on promotion to the National Conference last season and will host half of the Burnley squad whilst the rest of the team make the trip to Alfreton.
The players then return together for just a couple of days before travelling to neighbours Preston North End on Tuesday 25th July. New manager Alex Neil will be preparing his side for a challenge on the Championship playoffs after finishing 11th last season.
Burnley then complete the week with a trip to Nottingham Forest on Saturday 29th July. The Championship side narrowly avoided relegation in May and boast the goalscoring exploits of rumoured Burnley target Britt Assombalonga.
Two continental sides to visit Lancashire
Turf Moor will not host a pre-season friendly until Tuesday 1st August when they play Spanish side Celta Vigo. A talented strike partnership of John Guidetti and Iago Aspas will provide a stern test for a defence rebuilding after Michael Keane's £30 million transfer away from Lancashire.
Burnley conclude their preparations with a home game against Bundesliga side Hannover 96. After promotion from Germany's second tier, Hannover have already started their pre-season schedule with 14-0 and 10-0 victories in their opening four games. Austrian Martin Hamik will be one to watch after 17 goals last season.
Manager Dyche will hope such a set of fixtures will help his side reach their peak form going into a challenging start to the season. Burnley's opening five away games could hardly be any more difficult with visits to Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Everton and Manchester City.