Following their respective progressions to the second round of the FA Cup, Bristol Rovers and Lincoln City return to League One action with a clash at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Matt Taylor's team needed extra time to get the better of Weston-super-Mare in knockout action last weekend, while their visitors made light work of Chesham United in the first round.
Match preview
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Even with a handful of recognisable names in the starting XI, a wildly inconsistent Bristol Rovers side had to do it the hard way against National League South side Weston-super-Mare in the FA Cup, as the sixth-tier side threatened quite the giant killing at the Memorial Stadium.
However, the Pirates had their bacon saved in extra time by Connor Taylor and Grant Ward, whose goals propelled Bristol Rovers to a second-round showdown with Barnsley at the end of the month and snapped a two-game losing sequence for Saturday's hosts.
A disheartening end to October saw Taylor's team lose for the third time in a row in the EFL Trophy - going down 3-2 to Exeter City - after a 1-0 league defeat versus former Premier League outfit Reading, as a Sam Smith strike sunk the 10-man Pirates.
Collecting a modest 16 points from 13 matches in the 2024-25 League One season, Bristol Rovers are scrapping at the wrong end of the third-tier table in 17th place, but such is the tight nature of the standings that they are just three points below a top-half place.
Furthermore, Taylor's men have earned four of their five League One victories this season at the Memorial Stadium - beating Charlton Athletic and Shrewsbury Town in their last two home league fixtures - but an in-form Lincoln should provide a much sterner test.
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While Bristol Rovers needed the full two hours to see off National League opposition in the FA Cup, Lincoln ran into no such difficulties away to Chesham United, netting twice before the break and twice in the second half of a 4-0 demolition job.
That was a third victory in succession for Michael Skubala's side - who will now travel to Crawley Town with a third-round place on the line - as the Imps also eked out 2-1 home wins over Stockport County and Northampton Town to further their League One playoff ambitions.
Comfortably in the promotion mix with 24 points from 13 games, Lincoln are sitting pretty in fifth place in the League One standings, level on points with Mansfield Town, one worse off than third-placed Wrexham and five adrift of Wycombe Wanderers at the summit.
All throughout 2024, the Imps have been near-impossible to beat on the road in League One, stringing together an incredible 14-match unbeaten run in third-tier away games before a 3-0 hammering at the hands of imminent FA Cup foes Crawley on October 22.
Prior to that beatdown, Skubala's men had not lost a League One road match since New Year's Day, and the Imps faithful also possess fond memories of their side's most recent battle with Bristol Rovers, a 5-0 dismantling on home soil in the middle of March.
Team News
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Bristol Rovers went down to 10 men in their loss to Reading when Shaqai Forde was dismissed for two bookable offences - one for a foul and the second for kicking the ball away - but the attacker has now served his ban and is available for selection again.
Promise Omochere was withdrawn with an ankle problem in the same game and subsequently missed the cup beating of Weston-super-Mare, but his issue is not severe, and Joel Senior (hamstring) could even make his first appearance since August this weekend.
However, Oxford United-owned striker Gatlin O'Donkor is still on the mend from a similar problem, so Chris Martin may spearhead the charge again if Omochere is not given the green light to start.
Lincoln did not emerge unscathed from their last League One match either, as Ethan Erhahon was taken off after just 16 minutes of the clash with Stockport and was unable to contribute to the crushing of Chesham.
Tom Bayliss is also out of contention for the foreseeable future due to a knee issue, which should sideline him until February at the earliest, while Adam Jackson, Tyler Walker and Dylan Duffy are also in the care of the doctors.
In terms of personnel changes, Jovon Makama's strike in the cup will likely not be enough to see him fend off the threat of Ben House or Bailey Cadamarteri, both of whom netted in the triumph over Stockport.
Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:
Griffiths; Hunt, Moore, Taylor, Mola; Lindsay, Conteh; Forde, Sotiriou, Sinclair; Martin
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Wickens; Darikwa, O'Connor, Roughan; McGrandles; Ring, Jefferies, Hamilton, Hackett; Cadamerteri, House
We say: Bristol Rovers 1-2 Lincoln City
Lincoln may have been put to the sword on their last League One away day at Crawley, but the Imps have otherwise been near-unbeatable on the road in 2024 and head to the Memorial Stadium with the form book firmly on their side.
In spite of Bristol Rovers' relatively pleasing home record, the Gas are too inconsistent for us to back them with any real conviction, and a Lincoln outfit who love facing the Pirates have our vote to continue their promotion charge.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
