Bristol Roversvs.Crawley

Rob Elliot is beginning to get settled as the Red Devils manager, while the hosts are seemingly regressing with some underwhelming results of late.

Match preview

Bristol Rovers' form has done little to enthuse their supporters of late, despite holding playoff candidates Lincoln City to a 1-1 draw at the weekend.

Prior to that, a run of four defeats in five games was followed by a nervy FA Cup tie with sixth-tier Weston-super-Mare, where Matt Taylor's men needed extra time to scrape through.

Playing at home has been relatively fruitful for the Gas this season, and last weekend's point took them to 13 from a possible 21 at the Memorial Stadium.

That kind of form would be pushing for the playoffs if it was not for their woeful away record, with just two teams currently performing worse on the road, meaning they enter the weekend down in 16th, five points above their upcoming opponents, who are in the final relegation spot.

Taylor will hope his players can take advantage of another home encounter here, especially ahead of a tricky trip to Mansfield Town next week, and some difficult fixtures in December.

The last time the clubs met in a league setting was down in League Two three seasons ago, and Rovers completed the double over Crawley, meaning they have not lost to the Red Devils in the league since 2015.

However, they have been drawn together in the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy since then, and Crawley came out victorious on both occasions.

The visitors will look to use that as inspiration with the view of moving out of the relegation zone this weekend, because after a dismal run following their surprise promotion, form is showing signs of picking up.

After winning their first four games of the season in all competitions, Crawley then drew one and lost 10 of the following 11 matches, seeing manager Scott Lindsey dismissed.

It was not plain sailing for the incoming Elliot, as he also lost his first four in charge, but taking five points from their last four games has moved them closer to safety, with the gap now just two points, even though they have played a game more than most teams around them.

Things could have been better though, as Crawley would have hoped for more in their 0-0 draw with Burton Albion, and while a 2-2 draw with Huddersfield Town appears a decent result on paper, they will have been disappointed to squander the lead twice.

The 2-1 loss to Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Trophy in midweek confirmed their exit from that competition, but it was made clear by the team selection that all focus had been placed on this one.

Bristol Rovers League One form:

W

W

L

W

L

D

Bristol Rovers form (all competitions):

L

W

L

L

W

D

Crawley Town League One form:

L

L

W

L

D

D

Crawley Town form (all competitions):

W

L

W

D

D

L

Team News

Bristol Rovers were able to welcome back James Wilson to their backline last weekend, playing 90 minutes in the draw with Lincoln, while Promise Omochere's return is not too far away.

There are confirmed absentees at the back and up front though, with full-back Joel Senior still out along with attacker Gatlin O'Donkor.

Crawley's goalkeeping crisis could be soon coming to an end, as Jojo Wollacott is not far away from a return, because with Eddie Beach and Ryan Sandford also sidelined, Connal Trueman has been drafted in this season for his first league appearances in over two years.

Top scorer Junior Quitirna is also edging nearer to a return, along with defensive trio Josh Flint, Scott Malone and Dion Conroy, while Sonny Fish got his first minutes of the season last weekend, and started the the EFL Trophy tie with Wycombe on Tuesday.

Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:

Griffiths; Moore, Taylor, Wilson, Mola; Lindsay, Conteh, Sinclair; Forde, Martin, Hutchinson

Crawley Town possible starting lineup:

Wollacott; Mullarkey, Mukena, Barker; Hepburn-Murphy, Ibrahim, Anderson, Camara; Forster, Showunmi, Darcy

We say: Bristol Rovers 1-1 Crawley Town

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