Celtic and Leicester City top challenging pre-season schedule for Southampton | OneFootball

Celtic and Leicester City will be amongst the opponents for newly-promoted Southampton during their pre-season programme.

The Saints announced four warm-up fixtures via their official website yesterday with all of their pre-season matches set to provide the team with a stern challenge.

Southampton’s pre-season programme will start with a Scotland tour on 14 July. The Saints will face Scottish Women’s Premier League 1 club Celtic on 16 July, Fran Alonso’s Hoops are a full-time outfit and have played UEFA Women’s Champions League football in recent times.

Following their trip north of the border, Marieanne Spacey-Cale’s side will face back-to-back matches against Barclays Women’s Championship opponents. They take on a Charlton Athletic side which finished in the top half of the table last season at The Oakwood on 24 July before hosting Scott Booth’s Lewes side at AFC Totton on 31 July.

Southampton complete their pre-season programme with arguably their biggest test. The Saints travel to the East Midlands to take on top tier side Leicester City. The Foxes are expected to have a stronger line-up this year after avoiding an immediate relegation back to the Barclays Women’s Championship last term.

Southampton are set to begin their first season in the elite game following their promotion to the Barclays Women’s Championship in May.