Albion have arranged a glamour friendly against Dutch top-flight outfit Heerenveen on Saturday, August 4 (3pm).

The Baggies will host the UEFA Cup qualifiers at The Hawthorns in their only warm-up match on home soil, just a week before the start of the season.

Heerenveen, who finished as league runners-up in 2000, made the final 32 of the UEFA Cup last term and finished fifth in Eredivisie.

“We’re very happy with the WBA match,” said Verbeek. “WBA is a club with a fantastic history in English football and The Hawthorns is a great stadium.

“The quality of the opposition, with players like Kevin Phillips and Curtis Davies allows us to use the fixture perfectly for our UEFA Cup preparation.

“To play a top ranking team from England is a great experience for my new team and a visit to England is always a special one.”

Heerenveen boast Holland’s top gun in Alfonso Alves and Europe’s current golden boot runner-up.

The Brazilian international hit 34 league goals and 37 last season to finish just one point behind Italy’s Francesco Totti.

The Baggies head to Croatia and Slovenia after their opening pre-season friendly at Histon on July 10 (7.45pm).

Tony Mowbray’s men will take on Croatian giants Hadjuk Split at their Poljud Stadium on Friday, July 13 before wrapping up their Balkans trip by taking on Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade at the neutral venue of Murska Sobota, Slovenia, on Wednesday July 18.

Albion’s friendly against Slovenian team FC Drava on July 15 has been cancelled to allow them more time training in between travelling from Croatia to Slovenia.

Albion have friendlies at Northampton on July 25, Hereford, July 27, Bristol Rovers, July 31 and Stafford Rangers on August 1.