In the wake of Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Portsmouth, Bristol Rovers face a long wait to return to League One action, but Joey Barton does have a significant test planned to fill the void.
Saturday's scheduled trip to Shrewsbury Town has been postponed due to international call-ups for Luca Hoole, Jarell Quansah and Lamare Bogarde, meaning the Gas have the next two weekends off due to Plymouth Argyle's involvement in the Papa John's Trophy final on April 2.
As a result, Rovers' next league fixture is the Good Friday clash with Charlton Athletic at the Mem on April 7, meaning they will have had almost three weeks without a game when they next take the field in competitive action.
However, per The Athletic, the Gas have scheduled a behind-closed-doors friendly against Premier League side Aston Villa as both clubs look to make use of the time without a game. The game is due to take place at an undisclosed venue on Friday.
Rovers are sure to face a strong Villa side with the likes of Tyrone Mings and Ollie Watkins missing out on an England call-up, while Brazilian defender Diego Carlos is set to make his return from a ruptured Achilles Tendon.
For the Gas, it promises to be a great experience as they look to finish the season strongly with nine games remaining, and it will not be the first time they have played top-level opposition in recent times after taking on FC Porto during their pre-season tour to Portugal last summer.
"We’ve got to reset, rest up and make sure we come back to finish the season strongly," Barton said of his plans for the three-week break. "There will be a bit (of time off), but it will be next week rather than this week.
"We’ve got a few days in there and we’ve got an enforced break with that Plymouth game going, so I’ll probably give the lads two, three, four, five days off there just to refresh and reset and make sure we finish the last period really strongly."
Bogarde, of course, is on loan from Villa, but he will not take part in the fixture after being called up by the Netherlands for their under-20s to play against France on Saturday.
That is the latest piece of business done between the two clubs in recent times, with Villa paying close attention to Rovers' academy and signing young prospects Kyrie Pierre and Bradley Burrowes in 2021.
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