Bristol Rovers and Northampton Town will begin their latest League One campaigns on Saturday, when they do battle at the Memorial Stadium.
The two sides finished 15th and 14th respectively last term with the visitors three points better off than their hosts.
Match preview
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Bristol Rovers will kick off their first full season under the management of Matt Taylor on Saturday, with the aim of kicking on from last term's 15th placed finish.
Taylor arrived at the Memorial Stadium with the Gas sat on 24 points from 18 matches and oversaw the final 28 outings, leading them to 10 victories alongside 15 defeats.
That large unwanted tally was largely down to a dismal end to the campaign in which they earned just eight points from their final 11 outings to finish on 57 points, three behind Saturday's visitors and five outside of the top half in their second season back in the third tier.
Taylor's first pre-season campaign was a busy and largely successful one for the Gas, who have turned out in seven friendlies, picking up five victories along the way over Melksham Town, Bath City, Yeovil Town, Portimonense and Plymouth Argyle, before bowing out with a 2-0 home defeat to Cardiff City last Saturday.
Now aiming to build on two secure mid-table finishes and stage a more sustained bid for a top-half finish in League One, Bristol Rovers will look to start with a home victory at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Their visitors head into the campaign in a similar position with the aim of cracking the top half following a pleasing return to the third tier under the tutelage of Jon Brady last time around.
After winning promotion from League Town in the 2022-23 term, Northampton Town looked set for a top-half finish last time around, having moved onto 59 points from 43 outings with back-to-back wins in April, only to drop to 14th spot as a result of a dip in form to end the campaign.
Consecutive defeats saw them fall behind, and the Cobblers were then, at least, able to finish with a creditable 1-1 draw away at Barnsley, as Louis Appere drew them level deep into injury time after Herbie Kane looked to have fired the hosts to a 1-0 win at Oakwell.
Brady's men then kicked off their new pre-season campaign with a 3-0 defeat to Norwich City and a 2-1 victory over Brackley Town, before playing out a 2-2 draw with Kings Lynn Town and finishing their preparations off with a 2-0 loss away at Cheltenham Town last Saturday as Ryan Bowman netted a first-half brace for the hosts.
Now heading into a second straight season with the aim of building on the positives from last term despite plenty of changes to their squad, Northampton Town will bid to get off the mark at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
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Team News
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Matt Taylor has somewhat of a new-look Bristol Rovers squad to choose from in Saturday's curtain-raiser, with Antony Evans, Sam Finley, John Marquis, Lewis Gordon, Luca Hoole and James Gibbons having departed over the summer.
He has bolstered the Gas' ranks, though, and new arrivals Jamie Lindsay, Jake Garrett and Isaac Hutchinson will all compete to fill the gaps left in midfield, particularly by star man Evans, while Taylor Moore, Joel Senior, Clinton Mola and Michael Forbes are vying for the manager's favour in defence.
At the top end of the pitch, Chris Martin could again lead the line heading into the new campaign, with the veteran having notched up 16 goals last season, while summer arrivals Promise Omochere and Ruel Sotiriou will hope to join him with the latter having 11 of his own in League One for Leyton Orient last term.
Northampton also head into the new campaign having experienced major squad changes over the summer, with defenders Manny Monthe, Sam Sherring and Ryan Haynes, midfielder Shaun McWilliams and striker Louis Appere among those to depart, while Marc Leonard and Kieron Bowie's loan spells came to an end.
In the absence of key men Leonard and McWilliams, new arrival Cameron McGeehan may join Ben Fox in the midfield, while Tom Eaves and James Wilson have also joined and could both line up in a new-look attack.
They still face competition up top, though, with Mitch Pinnock and Sam Hoskins, who has netted 50 league goals over the last three seasons, remaining key men at Sixfields, while Jack Baldwin will hope to earn a debut in defence following his arrival from Ross County.
Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:
Griffiths; Senior, Wilson, Moore, Mola; Hutchinson, Lindsay; Omochere, Sotiriou, Sinclair; Martin
Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Burge; Willis, Guthrie, Baldwin; McGowan, McGeehan, Fox, Koiki; Hoskins, Eaves, Pinnock
We say: Bristol Rovers 2-1 Northampton Town
Both heading into the new season with fresh squads aiming to build on last season's mid-table finishes, we expect a hard-fought encounter at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Bristol Rovers are arguably in a better position to launch a top-half bid this season under Taylor and should have enough to get over the line with home advantage on their side on the opening day.
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Sam Varley
