Middlesbrough will host Espanyol in a pre-season friendly on Saturday 1 August at the Riverside. This will be the final test for Kim Hellberg's team before the 2026/27 campaign gets underway a week later with the first round of the Carabao Cup. The Barcelona-based outfit, managed by Manolo González, include former Boro favourite Kike Garcia in their ranks, the striker having joined last summer. The two sides last met in a pre-season fixture at the Riverside in 2005, when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored the only goal of the game. Ticket information will follow in due course.