SAINTS are to face Reading in a pre-season friendly, it has been announced.

The Royals will visit St. Mary's Stadium on July 31, ahead of the start of the new season.

The two sides last faced each other during the 2008/09 season. Saints won at the Madjeski Stadium while being held to a draw at St. Mary's.

The match will pitch Alan Pardew, a former manager at Reading, against his former number two at the Berkshire club, Brian McDermott.

The Championship side spent the first half of last season in a relegation battle before a resurgence saw them stage a late surge for the play-offs, only to fall short.

Grzegorz Rasiak, who played for Saints under George Burley, is now a Reading striker and Saints are currently trying to do a deal for Royals winger Michail Antonio, who spent most of last season on loan at St. Mary's.