Bristol Rovers

We are delighted to announce that Bristol Rovers will play Aston Villa in a pre-season friendly at The Memorial Stadium on Wednesday July 20th.

The game will kick off at 7.45pm and comes in the middle of hectic week for Darrell Clarke’s side as Premier League side Swansea visit The Mem, just three days later and Rovers fly out to Spain, where they will take on CE Sabadell, on Monday 25th July.

Aston Villa, of course, were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, and have recently been taken over by the Recon Group, a company led by Chinese billionaire Dr Tony Xia.

Currently without a manager, Villa are almost certain to have a new man at the helm by the time we play them and, one suspects, they may well have been active in the transfer market as they aim to reclaim their Premier League place at the first time of asking.

Playing one former, and one current, Premier League side in the same week represents a tough challenge for newly promoted Rovers, but we feel certain that supporters will appreciate the pre-season schedule that has been put in place as we prepare for life in Sky Bet League One.