Preview: Fleetwood Town vs. Bristol Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

The home side are currently 22nd in the League One table, seven points from the safety of 20th position, while Bristol Rovers occupy 12th spot, 11 points off the playoff positions entering the business end of the campaign.

Match preview

Fleetwood stretched their unbeaten run in League One to four matches on Saturday afternoon, drawing 0-0 with Stevenage, which made it six points from their last four games at this level of football.

The Fishermen are unbeaten in the third tier since a 2-1 reverse to Barnsley on February 17, but they are struggling for wins, triumphing just once in League One since the start of last month.

Charlie Adam's side are 22nd in the table, picking up 32 points from their 37 league games this season, which has left them seven points behind 20th-placed Burton Albion, who have a game in hand.

Fleetwood have struggled defensively this season, conceding 60 times, which is the second-worst record in the division behind Carlisle United (63), while they have the second-worst home record in League One during the 2023-24 campaign, picking up just 15 points from 18 matches.

The Lancashire outfit will be bidding to make it a league double over Bristol Rovers this season, having recorded a 2-0 victory when the two teams locked horns at the start of February.

Bristol Rovers, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 3-0 home loss to Derby County on Saturday afternoon, which ended a two-game winning run in the third tier of English football.

The Pirates have been in strong form of late, winning three of their last five league games, which has left them in 12th position in the table, boasting 49 points from their 36 matches.

Matt Taylor's side are 11 points behind sixth-placed Stevenage, so it would take something special to finish in the playoffs from this position, but it is not an impossible task for the club.

Bristol Rovers have been relatively strong on their travels this season, picking up 23 points from 18 matches, recording seven wins in the process, and they will certainly take confidence from Fleetwood's problems at home during the 2023-24 campaign.

The Pirates, as mentioned, lost to Fleetwood in the reverse fixture at the start of last month, but five of the last eight League One meetings between these two sides have finished level.

Fleetwood Town League One form:

D

L

D

D

W

D

Bristol Rovers League One form:

L

W

L

W

W

L

Team News

Fleetwood will be forced to make two changes to their back three for this contest, with Elijah Campbell unavailable due to the injury which forced him off in the first half against Stevenage.

The home side will also have to work around the suspension of Harrison Holgate, with the 23-year-old sent off in the second half of Saturday's contest.

Shaun Rooney and Harry Boyes could therefore come into the defence, but the rest of the side could be unchanged from Saturday, with leading goalscorer Jayden Stockley featuring in attack.

As for Bristol Rovers, head coach Taylor is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack despite the disappointment of the three-goal loss to Derby.

Chris Martin has been the team's main source of goals this season, scoring 15 times in League One, and he will continue in the final third of the field for the visitors.

John Marquis is pushing to be involved in the starting side, having featured off the bench on Saturday, although it seems likely that the 31-year-old will be among the substitutes for the first whistle once again.

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:

Lynch; Sarpong-Wiredu, Boyes, Rooney; Johnston, Kilkenny, Lawal, Mayor, Patterson; Graydon, Stockley

Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:

Ward; Hoole, Taylor, Baggott, Gordon; Finley, Conteh; Vale, Evans, Sinclair; Martin

We say: Fleetwood Town 1-1 Bristol Rovers

As mentioned, five of the last eight League One meetings between these two teams have been drawn, while Fleetwood have shared the points in three of their last four matches, and we are predicting another stalemate in Lancashire on Tuesday evening.

Previews by email