Brighton and Hove Albion take on Chelsea in Philadelphia at midnight British summer time tonight (Saturday 22 July).
Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella are likely to be in the squad facing Brighton.
Gone are the days of Burgess Hill, Crawley and Worthing for the Albion’s first team pre-season schedule.
The Seagulls’ elevated status presents the opportunity to play against more prestigious opposition and the Premier League Summer Series should be a fantastic showcase.
Albion will play Brentford in Atlanta on Wednesday (26 July) and Newcastle in New York next Saturday (29 July).
It is only 22 years since the infamous “Battle of Longford” when Albion players Charlie Oatway and Steve Melton were blamed for a 22-man brawl.
It was alleged to have included the Longford chairman in addition to the players – and the inexperienced referee abandoned the match at half time.
Legend has it that the Seagulls manager at the time, Micky Adams, called time and the club curtailed its Irish tour there and then.
Aberdeen visited Withdean in 2010 and former Albion manager Mark McGhee’s men were beaten 1-0 in a much-forgotten fixture.
Nottingham Forest also visited the theatre of trees back in July 1999 for an emotional first game back in Brighton and Hove since 1997. It was in fact the first time Albion had played in Brighton since 1898.
More recently, Albion welcomed Atletico Madrid to the Amex, in 2017, and held their own in a 3-2 defeat.
However, still the Seagulls most illustrious pre-season friendly to date was a 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid back in August 1983.
