Preview: Exeter City vs. Bristol Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors, meanwhile, ended a four-match losing streak by beating Oxford United last weekend.

Match preview

After comfortably surviving in their first season back in the third tier following their promotion as runners-up from League Two in 2022, Exeter had appeared set for a relegation battle this time around when enduring a 13-match winless streak over the course of three months.

However, the Grecians finally ended that run by dispatching Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 on Boxing Day, and they have gone on to collect 11 points from their ensuing seven matches to move six points clear of the relegation zone.

Of course, head coach Gary Caldwell will not be counting his chickens just yet, but impressive successive away wins against Bristol Rovers and Barnsley suggest that Exeter should have enough quality to survive. Goals from Jack Aitchison and Reece Cole proved enough to defeat promotion hopefuls Barnsley last time out.

Having beaten Bristol Rovers just 11 days prior to this forthcoming fixture at St James Park, Caldwell and his players will feel supremely confident of defeating them once again with home advantage on their side. If they can do so, they will move just one point behind their opponents, and they may end the weekend in the top half of the table.

Bristol Rovers, meanwhile, have seen their outside playoff hopes dashed by a recent poor run of form, but they earned a richly deserved victory against Oxford last time out.

Goals from Chris Martin and Luke Thomas gave the Gas a two-goal lead inside the opening 22 minutes, but Mark Harris pulled one back for the visitors before the hour mark to set up a grandstand finish. Ultimately, Harvey Vale's strike 13 minutes from the end of normal time settled an entertaining encounter.

Prior to suffering four league defeats on the bounce, Matt Taylor had gained 10 points from his opening five games in charge after replacing Joey Barton as manager in early December. However, the best they can now realistically hope for is a top half finish.

Given that they were promoted alongside Exeter in 2022, though, that would certainly not represent a bad effort for Bristol Rovers at this stage of their development. It is more than 30 years since the Gas last competed in the second tier of English football, but they appear to be on the right track towards returning there within the coming years.

Exeter City League One form:

L

W

L

D

W

W

Bristol Rovers League One form:

W

L

L

L

L

W

Bristol Rovers form (all competitions):

D

L

L

L

L

W

Team News

Exeter will remain without Demetri Mitchell, who is sidelined for the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury, while Caleb Watts is also sidelined by a hamstring issue.

Caldwell may see no reason to change a winning team after causing an upset against Barnsley last time out, meaning the likes of Sam Cosgrove and Luca Connell may have to settle on appearing from the bench once again.

Bristol Rovers, meanwhile, are expected to travel without Connor Taylor and Josh Grant. The pair were both injured in their side's recent defeat to Exeter, and were not involved for the win against Oxford last weekend.

However, George Friend, James Wilson and goalscorer Martin all returned from recent injuries to start in that victory, and they should retain their places after coming through the majority of the match unscathed.

Exeter City possible starting lineup:

Sinisalo; Sweeney, Diabate, Jules; Niskanen, Carroll, Cole, Harper; Aitchison, Rankine; Cox

Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:

Ward; Wilson, Crama, Friend; Hunt, Conteh, Finley, Vale; Evans, Martin, Thomas

We say: Exeter City 1-2 Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers' matches are usually high scoring, and with Exeter rediscovering some decent form since returning to winning ways on Boxing Day, we see no reason why this meeting would be any different.

Exeter defeated the Gas very recently in a rescheduled fixture, but we can envisage the visitors gaining some revenge after putting in a good performance when beating Oxford last time out.

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