The Walking Dead is set to air its penultimate episode before the midseason finale next week, the first trailer of which has been released.

It seems the action is set to intensify with an episode that'll set the scene for what is sure to be an explosive cliffhanger going into the hiatus before the show returns to screens in February.

Plenty of screen time looks poised to be handed to Eugene (Josh McDermitt) who - having realised Dwight (Austin Amelio) is the traitor in The Saviours' midst - finds himself in Negan's firing line.

“This place is gonna fall,” Dwight tells Eugene in reference to The Sanctuary, “...and all you have to do to be on the winning side is nothing.”

Elsewhere, an imprisoned Rick (Andrew Lincoln) is seen being placed once again into Jadis' Junkyard battleground pit where it looks like he'll come face to face with Winslow, the ravenous walker perilously impaled by spikes.

The Walking Dead's latest episode was a dip in quality compared with previous weeks culminating in a cliffhanger that seemed to hark back to an earlier season. You can read our review here.

It's also been revealed which character is set to leave the show in order to star in spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead for its fourth season next year.

The Walking Dead season eight airs every Sunday in the US on AMC with the UK premiere arriving the following evening on FOX. It will also be available on NOWTV

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