Everton announce pair of pre-season friendlies

Everton will travel to Blackpool and Blackburn for pre-season friendlies ahead of the start of the delayed 2020-21 Premier League season.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no warm-up tours abroad this summer; instead, the Blues will take on these two Lancashire sides ahead of the big kick-off on the weekend of September 11-13.

Blackpool, who finished 13th in the curtailed 2019-20 League One season and are managed by former Liverpool under-23s boss Neil Critchley, will host Everton first at Bloomfield Road on Saturday, August 22. Kick-off is scheduled for 3pm.

Tony Mowbray’s Blackburn, 11th in the Championship last term, will then welcome Everton to Ewood Park on Tuesday, September 1, with the friendly getting underway at 6pm.

Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images

Both games will, of course, be played behind closed doors, given fans are not expected to start being allowed back into stadia until October.

But the two matches will be streamed live on Everton’s official website, available to 2020-21 season ticket holders, 2019-20 hospitality members and those signed up to the club’s official membership scheme.

Everton will also announce a third pre-season clash - which will also be available to watch live online - in due course.

The Blues last travelled to Bloomfield Road in November 2010 in Blackpool’s sole Premier League season, when they drew 2-2.

Their last trip to Blackburn was in a similar pre-season friendly two years ago following Marco Silva’s appointment as manager, which they lost 3-0.

Everton’s fixtures for the upcoming Premier League campaign will be revealed by Friday, August 21.