Peterboroughvs.Bristol Rovers

The hosts are winless in their last two league games and the visitors will be looking to right the wrongs of last weekend's home humbling by Wigan Athletic.

Match preview

Peterborough come into Saturday's game on the back of a 1-1 draw at home to Lincoln City, in which Kwame Poku's second-half strike cancelled out Ben House's opener.

The result meant that the Posh are now winless in their three home games this season, having lost 2-0 on the opening day to Huddersfield Town and then losing by the same score against Wrexham at the back end of August.

Their away form has been a lot more impressive to start this season though, with a pair of 2-1 wins against Exeter City and Gillingham in the league and EFL Cup respectively, and a resounding 4-1 win at Shrewsbury Town demonstrating that Peterborough are happy travellers.

Peterborough have finished in the League One playoff places in the last two seasons and it would be a huge shock if they weren't up there challenging again, although losing key defensive players over the summer like Harrison Burrows, Ronnie Edwards and Josh Knight certainly will not help their cause.

Darren Ferguson is however vastly experienced at this level and he is now in his fourth spell as manager of Peterborough, and over his various tenures he has secured four promotions at the Cambridgeshire club.

Bristol Rovers meanwhile come into this weekend's game looking to put the 4-0 defeat against Wigan well behind them, and they will be looking to avoid an unwanted record of three consecutive league defeats having also lost away at Barnsley the previous week.

The defeat against Wigan was particularly gut-wrenching, as goals from Joe Hugill, Thelo Aasgaard and Luke Chambers rounded off a miserable day for the Pirates in front of their home fans.

Manager Matt Taylor guided Bristol Rovers to a solid 15th place last season, but their away form will need to improve if they are to push for a finish in the top half this season; their last win on the road was against Cheltenham Town in April.

In terms of their summer incomings, the sale of Antony Evans to Huddersfield did facilitate moves for the likes of Promise Omochere and Isaac Hutchinson to come in and bolster a squad that also sold midfielder Jordan Rossiter and experienced striker John Marquis on free transfers.

While this could be a season of consolidation for Bristol Rovers, they do have a squad that is capable of finishing in the top half of League One if they can find more consistency in their results and improve on a defence that conceded 68 goals in 46 outings last season.

Peterborough United League One form:

Peterborough United form (all competitions):

L

W

W

L

W

D

Bristol Rovers League One form:

W

D

L

W

L

L

Bristol Rovers form (all competitions):

D

L

L

W

L

L

Team News

The Posh are still without long-term absentees Mahamadou Susoho, Ryan De Havilland and Rio Adebisi, with the latter being the closest to a return to action, although he is not expected back until October.

Peterborough's Player of the Month for August, Oscar Wallin made his return from injury against Lincoln, and the Swedish defender is expected to once again partner Jadel Katongo at the back.

For Bristol Rovers, Moore is suspended having been sent off in the home defeat against Wigan last weekend, with Connor Taylor likely to come into the back three and deputise in his place.

In terms of injuries, Jamie Lindsay made his return from injury last time out, so while the Pirates do come into this game with a clean bill of health it remains to be seen if the manager will look to rotate after his side after the hefty defeat last weekend.

Should he opt to rotate, winger and captain Scott Sinclair could be an option out wide, and Jake Garrett could drop deeper alongside Kamil Conteh should the manager look to bolster the spine of his team.

Peterborough United possible starting lineup:

Steer; Curtis, Wallin, Katongo, Sparkes; Collins, Kyprianou; Poku, Randall, Odoh; Jones

Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:

Griffiths; Taylor, Wilson, Mola; Thomas, Garrett, Conteh, Sousa; Sinclair, Omochere, Sotiriou

We say: Peterborough United 2-0 Bristol Rovers

Peterborough's home form appears to be something of an anomaly given their stellar results on the road so far this season, and considering the Posh won both of their encounters against Bristol Rovers 2-0 last season, recent history is also on their side.

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