Bottom of League One Bristol Rovers host 10th place Northampton Town at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 3pm.
Team News
Bristol Rovers will be without Mark Little and Sam Nicholson who both have ongoing calf problems. The Gas will also be missing wing-back, Alex Rodman, due to illness along with Joe Barrett and Tom Davies who have hamstring and knee problems respectively.
An injury-hit Northampton Town should see some players returning to fitness this weekend having a staggering 12 injuries following their 2-1 win against Shrewsbury Town in mid-September. Although Cobblers boss Keith Curle hasn't given much away, Nicky Adams and Ricky Korboa could return to the squad this weekend in Bristol.
In addition to that, the Cobblers strengthened their attacking options on Friday afternoon when they announced the signing of former Mansfield Town striker Danny Rose who is available to make his debut on Saturday.
Predicted Lineups
It's unlikely that Rovers boss Ben Garner will make many changes for the game and will most likely put his team out in a 5-3-2 system.
Keith Curle always likes to be mysterious with his team selection but the Cobblers should shape up in 3-5-2.
Bristol Rovers: Jaakkola, Kilgour, Ehmer, Harries, Grant, Leahy, McCormick, Westbrooke, Mitchell-Lawson, Daly, Hanlan.
Northampton Town: Arnold, Adams, Horsfall, Bolger, Racic, Mills, Watson, Missilou, Hoskins, Smith, Rose.
Ones to watch
Surprisingly, left-back Luke Leahy will be a danger man for the Gas on Saturday afternoon. The Englishman has scored Rovers' only two goals so far, in a side that have seemed to lack a threat up top this season. Leahy has scored 20 times in his 280 appearances and will hope that the likes of Brandon Hanlan and James Daly can contribute a bit more in front of goal for the West Country side.
23-year-old Brandon Hanlan will be eager to get off the mark for Rovers having signed in the summer. After being named Gillingham's Young Player of the Season in 2018-19 with nine League One goals the forward will certainly want to use his pace and power to trouble the Northampton backline and impress the Gas fans watching from home.
As for Northampton, their new signing Danny Rose is available for selection and will definitely pose a threat to the Rovers backline if selected by boss Keith Curle. The experienced 26-year-old scored 38 goals for Mansfield in League Two across four seasons. Northampton boss Keith Curle told the Northampton website that the forward 'used to annoy the life' out of him and is 'delighted [Rose] will be in [his] dressing room now'.
In addition to the signing of Rose, Northampton will be boosted by the return of Nicky Adams from injury. Experienced winger Adams has made it quite clear that he is desperate to play in third-tier having not played in the division since 2014. Adams was the Cobblers' assist king last season with 16 assists in all competitions and will hope to reignite his creative spark back into the Northampton side.
Previous Meetings
There is a rich history between the sides who have met on 102 previous occasions, the first dates back to a 1908 FA Cup tie where Rovers won by one goal to nil away from home.
Since then Rovers have got the better of Northampton 36 times with 28 draws and Northampton coming out on top 38 times. One of the most memorable occasions has to be the 1998 Division Two play-off semi-finals where Rovers had a 3-1 lead after the first leg before Northampton overturned the tie winning 3-0 (4-3 on aggregate) and progressing to the final.
The last time the sides faced each other was in January 2019 when Rovers won 2-1 away from home in the Football League Trophy.
Where to watch
Bristol Rovers season ticket holders have been emailed a code to watch the game for free on iFollow, a guide to this can be found here.
Non-season ticket Rovers fans can watch the match for £10 on the Bristol Rovers iFollow service, the same service is available for Northampton Town fans who can watch the match for the same price on iFollow Cobblers.
Pre-match quotes
Bristol Rovers boss Garner has told the Bristol Post that all his side needs is a win to turn things around:
“I have been in football a long time. You know how important that win is and how much that can change things" he began.
“I have been involved in teams in the Premier League when you have gone four, five or even six games without a win and then you get it and the confidence just flows through the players and you get on a good run again.
"That is all this group needs. I have got so much faith in these players and the talent we have got in the squad. We need to get a win and that confidence and that will take us to good places, I am sure of it.”
Northampton manager Keith Curle has told the Northampton website that he is looking forward to returning to one of his former clubs on Saturday:
“Bristol Rovers are a robust, consistent League One club” he said.
“They have established themselves at this level and it will be another good challenge for us.
“I started my career at Bristol Rovers as an apprentice and I have got good memories of my time there. I know the manager from my time at Crystal Palace and he is someone with good footballing pedigree.
“There were lots of good things to come out of Saturday but there are lots of areas where we can improve.
“We gave Hull a good game, there are just one or two things we need to tidy up on.
“The two goals were disappointing but it is something we can look at and work on.”