Coventry City’s exciting new international strike force will miss the chance to test their mettle on the world stage next month when Pakistan play at Highfield Road.

The friendly fixture has been arranged for 25 March and will provide a warm up in the middle of a two week gap from action for the Sky Blues.

With relegation pressure set to hot up throughout April, the break will provide a chance to focus the squad on the task in hand.

But Wales duo Craig Bellamy and John Hartson will miss the chance to play against the world’s 190th side, as they will be away on world cup duty.

The Welsh face games against Armenia (ranked 92) and Ukraine (36) during that week.

Coventry start the April run on the 7th away at Leicester, before visiting Manchester United. Easter Monday sees Sunderland coming to Highfield Road, while Coventry go to Ipswich on 21st and entertain Liverpool on 28th.

The Sky Blues have just come through a weekend off as FA Cup action took centre-stage last Saturday.

Club captain Paul Williams said the forthcoming match against Charlton is crucial, as the club cannot afford to drop points.

He said that one point for a draw at this stage of the season is not enough, as the Sky Blues need to start catching up their relegation rivals.

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