Daily Echo:

SAINTS have booked in five pre-season games this summer, with it all kicking off today against Swiss outfit St Gallen.

Mauricio Pellegrino’s will return from their training camp in Austria following the St Gallen match, which takes place in Switzerland this afternoon (3.30pm BST).

The Argentine will spend another week moulding his side at Staplewood before heading to Championship side Brentford next Saturday (3pm BST) and then jetting off to France as they continue to warm up for the new season with another training camp near Evian from Monday, July 24.

That will be concluded with a friendly against French Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne, before Saints head back to finalise their Premier League preparations with two home games against FC Augsburg and Sevilla.

German side Augsburg will be town on Wednesday, August 2 (7.45pm BST), before the Spanish side come to St Mary’s on Saturday, August 5 (3pm BST).

Here, the Daily Echo, guides you through Saints’ pre-season plans:

St Gallen

  • League: Swiss Super League
  • Last season: 7th
  • Kick off: Today, 3.30pm BST
  • Where: FC Goldach’s Sportanlage Kellen ground

St Gallen finished 7th in the ten-team Swiss Super League last season and play their home games at the Kybunpark, a stadium with just under a 20,000 capacity which was built in 2008.

Saints will not face them at their home ground, however, with the friendly taking place at Swiss lower league side FC Goldach’s Sportanlage Kellen ground.

Like Saints, St Gallen have a new manager in charge, with Giorgio Contini taking the helm from Josef Zinnbauer, the former Hamburg reserve team boss who had been at the club since September 2015.

Contini has just left Lichtenstein outfit FC Vaduz after relegation from the Swiss Super League to take the job at St Gallen.

The 43-year-old used to play for the club as a striker and also worked as a coach there in the past.

Saints and St Gallen have met previously, in pre-season in 2011, when the Swiss side won 1-0, with Kristian Nushi on target.

St Gallen have a number of players to look out for.

Switzerland Under-21 international Albian Ajeti - who top-scored with 11 goals last term - eight-goal Yannis Taffer, midfielder Marco Aratore and Serbian Daniel Aleksic are among their key men.

Another familiar name is Switzerland international Tranquillo Barnetta, the 32-year-old, who was born in St Gallen, re-joined the club in January from Philadelphia Union.

Brentford

  • League: Championship
  • Last season: 10th
  • Kick off: Saturday, July 22, 3pm BST
  • Where: Griffin Park

The Bees count a former Saints among their ranks, with captain Harlee Dean having been at St Mary’s between 2010 and 2012 without making a first team appearance.

The 25-year-old has since gone on to be a key man for Brentford, winning the supporters’ player of the season last term.

The last time Saints went to Griffin Park was during the League One promotion campaign of 2010/11. That day in April 2011, Adam Lallana, David Connolly and Oscar Gobern sealed a 3-0 win for Nigel Adkins’ side as they edged towards the Championship.

Dean Smith, the former Walsall, Leyton Orient and Sheffield Wednesday defender, has been manager since November 2015, leading them to 9th and 10th in the second tier in that time.

It may well be Saints’ final ever trip to Griffin Park, with the Bees planning a move away from the 12,300 capacity stadium, with the Brentford Community Stadium opening in 2019.

Saint-Etienne

  • League: French Ligue 1
  • Last season: 9th
  • Kick off: Saturday, July 29, 5.30pm BST
  • Where: Stade Municipal de Chambery

To conclude Saints’ pre-season trip to France, Mauricio Pellegrino’s men will take on Saint-Etienne at the Stade Municipal de Chambery, which is near to the club’s training camp in Evian, where they will be staying from Monday, July 24.

Saint-Etienne have, like Saints, also recently appointed a new manager, with Red Bull Salzburg boss Oscar Garcia, who is the former chief of Brighton and Watford, arriving on a two-year contract in June.

Ex-Saints boss Claude Puel was heavily linked with the job before Garcia, who won the Austrian league and cup double during 2015-16 and 2016-17, was recruited.

Saint-Etienne finished 9th in Ligue 1 and reached the Europa League round-of-32, where they were beaten by Manchester United last season.

The French outfit play at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, which has a capacity of 42,000, although they’ll be meeting Saints in the tiny Stade Municipal de Chambery.

Romain Hamouma is one to look out for, having top scored with eight goals in all competitions last season and contributed five assists.

Jordan Veretout, the former Aston Villa man is another dangerman, while Saint-Etienne also have Paul Pogba’s brother, Florentin, in their ranks.

FC Augsburg

  • League: German Bundesliga
  • Last season: 13th
  • Kick off: Wednesday, August 2, 7.45pm BST
  • Where: St Mary’s

This will be Saints fans first opportunity to watch Mauricio Pellegrino’s side in action, and by then things will have really taken shape under the Argentine.

The German side will be arriving in England to take on Middlesbrough and Saints, with their travels concluded at St Mary’s on August 2 before heading back home the following day.

Much like Saints, Augsburg have been away on a training camp, having been in Italy for the past week or so.

Augsburg, who play at the 30,660 capacity Augsburg Arena, have established themselves as a top-flight side for the past seven seasons and have set themselves the target of trying to qualify for the Europa League next term.

Manuel Baum’s side have been weakened, however, with the departure of Turkish international Halil Altintop, who has left for Slavia Prague and was top-scorer for the club with six goals in all competitions last season.

They have added to their team, though, with former Eintracht Frankfurt and Darmstadt 98 striker Marcel Heller brought in on a free transfer.

Sevilla

  • League: Spanish La Liga
  • Last season: 4th
  • Kick off: Saturday, August 5, 3pm BST
  • Where: St Mary’s

The most high profile of all Saints’ pre-season games and it comes just a week before the beginning of the Premier League season, when Mauricio Pellegrino’s side host Swansea.

It will be a stern test for Saints, with Sevilla a team full of quality and heading in to this season with hopes of going far in the Champions League.

Los Rojiblancos have won two of the last three Europa League tournaments, in 2014/15 and 2015/16. They were in the Champions League last season, losing to Leicester 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.

They have qualified for Europe’s elite competition again, having completed a fourth place finish in La Liga last term.

While in charge of Alaves last season, Pellegrino lost 2-1 away and managed a 1-1 draw at home against Sevilla last season.

William Ben Yedder is one to watch having been Seville’s top-scorer last season with 11 goals.