Express & Star

Wolves to face friendly double-header including Sporting Lisbon in Portugal

Wolves have confirmed plans for a pre-season trip to Portugal to face Sporting Lisbon in a friendly open to supporters.

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Bruno Lage and his side travel to the Algarve region in the county's south in the final weekend of July – one week before the start of the Premier League season – for a double-header.

They will tackle the Portuguese giants, who have qualified for next season's Champions League, on the evening of Saturday, July 30 at the 30,000-capacity Estadio Algarve.

Twenty-four hours later Lage's men will tackle SC Farense, of Portugal's second tier, at Estadio Sao Luis.

Ticket information is still to be confirmed but the trip offers another welcome opportunity for Wolves fans to see their side in action on the continent ahead of the big domestic kick-off.

The two fixtures mean the side will now contest four friendlies, all abroad, in front of supporters – with one more behind closed doors against Levante – in trips to Spain and Portugal next month.

Wolves jet to Alicante in eastern Spain for 10 days earlier in July where they face Deportivo Alaves and Besiktas in warm-up games open to fans.

The trip to Spain was settled on after the US tour fell through and visits to Germany and Austria could not be arranged.

There are no friendlies on home soil this year. Wolves are unable to host the final friendly of the summer at Molineux due to the upcoming Commonwealth Games, which prompted to the club to look elsewhere.

The clash against Sporting Lisbon, runners-up in the Primeira Liga last term, could see Lage come up against a summer target in the shape of midfielder Joao Palhinha, for who the clubs held talks earlier this summer.

The 26-year-old Portugal international defensive midfielder was subject of £17million interest.

Also linked with a Wolves move was his Sporting midfield colleague Matheus Nunes. Neither player are yet to depart Lisbon.

Lage and some of his first-team squad return to Compton to start pre-season training today.