Southend United will play Championship team Derby County on Monday, July 19th aith a 19.45 kick-off.
This is the first of several pre-season friendlies that will be announced in due course, as will the ticket details for this particular game.
The Rams are managed by Nigel Clough, son of Brian, and struggled for most of the season in the second tier, but eventually found safety and are currently 17th on 53 points with one game left.
They were last here for Spencer Benefit's behifit match last year that finished in a 2-2 draw, however many will remember the two epic cup struggles we had with the Midlands outfit, then playing at the Baseball Ground, in the seventies.
Expect the usual Essex tour after that, this may be the best we get!