Bristol Rovers to face Championship side managed by England legend as latest friendly announced

Bristol Rovers have another date for the diary as part of their pre-season schedule

Daniel Hargraves Bristol Rovers reporter

10:24, 03 Jun 2025

Coventry City are managed by Chelsea and England legend Frank Lampard(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

Bristol Rovers will host Coventry City at the Memorial Stadium in a pre-season friendly next month as part of their preparations for the upcoming 2025/26 League Two campaign.

Coventry, managed by Chelsea and England legend Frank Lampard, finished fifth in the Championship last term but were beaten 3-2 on aggregate in the play-off semi-finals by eventual winners Sunderland.

The Sky Blues were also a penalty shootout away from the Premier League two seasons ago, losing to Luton Town in the play-off final while they came agonisingly close to recording a shock victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final last year.

Rovers last played Coventry in February 2020 in League One, a 2-1 defeat at the Mem, just before the 2019/20 season was curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. City won the league on points-per-game and have been in the Championship since.

The friendly is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23 with the League Two season set to get underway the following week over the weekend of August 2.

Darrell Clarke’s side are already set to face local clubs Chippenham Town (July 4), Bath City (July 16) and Yeovil Town (July 19) as well as League One outfit Stockport County (July 12) while away in Murcia for a warm weather training camp.

Bristol Rovers Live on Whatsapp

Join Bristol Rovers Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol Rovers stories sent straight to your phone

Bristol Rovers Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.

Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol Rovers news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.

To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.

We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.

To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.

If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Click here to join our WhatsApp community.

Yate Town have also confirmed that they will face a Bristol Rovers XI on July 29, but that is expected to be a mix of academy and fringe players.

Rovers will be targeting promotion at the first time of asking following last season’s relegation. The Gas were on course for survival but a torrid run of just one point from their final 10 matches saw the Pirates finish 22nd in League One.

Clarke, who led the club to back-to-back promotions from the Conference to League One during a four-and-a-half year long first spell, was confirmed as Rovers’ new head coach last month ahead of the League Two season.

The Gas will learn their league schedule for the upcoming campaign when fixtures are released later this month on Thursday, June 26. Rovers will also be part of the Carabao Cup first round draw that day.

Bristol Rovers to face Championship side managed by England legend as latest friendly announced

Tags: