The game against the Sons tonight being marked with a one minute silence in respect of the tragic death of Dumbarton skipper Gordon Lennon who was killed in a car crash in June. Southgate also before kick-off presenting a bouquet of flowers to the right-back's fiancée, Kelly, and six-month-old son, Kai.
As for the strength of the side that will then take part in that friendly, and then on Saturday, three strikers will be missing, two of those being Tuncay Sanli and Afonso Alves who are sidelined with respective back and achilles problems. Mido meanwhile reported back late for pre-season training and while stay behind at the Riverside Stadium to work on his fitness.
Adam Johnson and Andrew Taylor however link back up with the squad for the first time after taking an extended break following their England under-21 exploits in the summer. On the other side of the coin, two other players are away on duty in the UEFA under-19 European Championships at the moment, the pair being goalkeeper Jason Steele and left-back Joe Bennett.
The quartet missing 'Boros first pre-season friendly last Saturday which saw them defeat Macclesfield 3-0 on the road in front of 728 spectators at the Moss Rose. All the goals coming in the last 20 minutes of the match from Julio Arca, Marvin Emnes and Jonathan Franks.
We won't see two other players we are used to seeing in Middlesbrough colours either, left-winger Stewart Downing having moved to Aston Villa for £12 million and goalkeeper Ross Turnbull joining Chelsea on a Bosman free transfer in the closed season. The pair having been replaced by Tranmere stopper Danny Coyne (free) and Colchester flyer Mark Yeates (undisclosed fee).
Middlesbrough squad for Saturday :
Jeremie Aliadiere, Julio Arca, Matthew Bates, Danny Coyne (GK), Didier Digard, Marvin Emnes, Jonathan Franks, Jonathan Grounds, Seb Hines, Justin Hoyte, Robert Huth, Adam Johnson, John Johnson, Brad Jones (GK), Tony McMahon, Gary O'Neil, Nathan Porritt, Andrew Taylor, Joshua Walker, David Wheater, Rhys Williams, Mark Yeates.