Gloucester picked up a bonus point despite losing 19-13 to Lyon in the opening round – and the 39-year-old thinks his side may now benefit from the momentum.

“[Friday] is a massive game because at the end of the day, we've got one point in the competition, so the context around that is very positive,” he said. “But it's still only one point and we want more points and we want to be competitive, so it's a big game.

“We've prepared well this week. It's exciting and we love coming back to Kingsholm any time, and a nice big European fixture is great for us.”

Gloucester also have a great track record against Benetton – with a 100 per cent win record against them so far in four previous encounters.

Skivington is confident that his squad will go into the match well prepared – even though he has made 14 changes to the line-up who faced Lyon, with Billy Twelvetrees the only man set to start both games.

“Whatever the results or points or whatever the outcome is, there is a good buzz and everybody in the squad understands what's expected of them, and the level of commitment required if you if you want to be pushing for that first-choice jersey,” he added.

“That just creates a good balance, because everybody's got to work hard. It doesn't matter what your name is, how many caps you’ve got – you’ve got to work hard to be in the team and generally speaking that builds a good environment.”

Gloucester Rugby head coach George Skivington hopes the home crowd will get behind the English team when Benetton Rugby travel to Kingsholm in the EPCR Challenge Cup on Friday night.