Aston Villa to face Walsall in pre-season as trio of fixtures are announced

Dean Smith's side will take on opponents from all three tiers of the EFL, first travelling to League One Shrewsbury Town on Sunday July 21 (2pm kick-off).

Three days later they'll travel to League Two Walsall (7.45pm kick-off), before heading to The Valley to take on recently promoted Championship side Charlton Athletic (3pm kick-off).

All three games will be broadcast live on the club's YouTube channel, giving fans the opportunity to watch the games free of charge without travelling.

Villa also confirmed that they are exploring the possibility of holding a pre-season fixture in Europe on Saturday August 3, a week ahead of the first batch of Premier League fixtures.

The Villans have already announced a pre-season trip to the USA, where they will play Minnesota United on July 17.

Meanwhile, the clash with Villa will be Walsall's first friendly fixture of the summer based at The Banks's Stadium.

Both teams went head to head last summer in pre-season, as Villa ran away 4-1 winners courtesy of a Conor Hourihane hat-trick and a Glenn Whelan goal. Jon Guthrie got on the scoresheet for the Saddlers.

Darrell Clarke's side are set to face Alfreton Town, Leamington, Nuneaton Borough, Notts County and Tranmere Rovers - as well as heading to Poland for their pre-season training camp over the summer.

You can keep track of every one of Aston Villa's and Walsall's pre-season games here...