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

Each of their last three meetings at Highbury Stadium have ended goalless and both sides, who are currently separated by just two points in the table, will be looking to get one over the other.

Match preview

Fleetwood Town failed to move into the top half of the League One standings last Friday when they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Cambridge United at the Abbey Stadium.

Jack Lankester and Sam Smith both hit the target to put Mark Bonner's men in a commanding two-goal lead before substitute Junior Quitirna pulled one back for the visitors in the 82nd minute.

Prior to that, Fleetwood picked up successive victories over Derby County and Lincoln City in their final two games in March before playing out an exciting 2-2 draw with Exeter City on April 1.

With 50 points from 40 games, Scott Brown's side are currently 13th in the League One table, two points and two places above Monday's visitors, who have two games in hand.

However, Fleetwood Town now return home, where they are unbeaten in their last seven games across all competitions, claiming five wins and two draws since February's 3-2 defeat at the hands of Burton Albion.

Bristol Rovers, on the other hand, gave their home fans something to cheer about as they edged out 12th-placed Charlton Athletic 1-0 when the sides squared off last Friday.

Following an uneventful first half at the Memorial Stadium, substitute John Marquis stepped up and neatly executed his 71st-minute penalty to end Charlton's run of five consecutive games without defeat.

Bristol Rovers previously saw their three-game unbeaten run come to an end on March 14 when they were beaten 2-0 by Wycombe Wanderers, four days before a 2-0 loss against Portsmouth.

After three consecutive home matches, Joey Barton's men now head out on the road, where they have picked up six points from their last two outings, following wins over Oxford United and Forest Green Rovers respectively.

While Bristol Rovers will be looking to make it three successive away victories, they have failed to win their last six games against Fleetwood Town, playing out five draws and losing once since edging out the Fishermen 2-1 in December 2018.

Fleetwood Town League One form:

L

D

W

W

D

L

Bristol Rovers League One form:

W

D

W

L

L

W

Team News

Fleetwood Town remain without 22-year-old goalkeeper David Harrington, who has been out of action since last September through a severe injury.

He is joined on the club's injury table by Danny Andrew, who has missed each of the last five matches after coming off injured against Wycombe Wanderers on March 7.

Carlos Gomes, who is currently Fleetwood's leading scorer in the league with seven goals to his name, will also play no part in Monday's game through an injury.

Scotty Robertson has been sidelined since March, while Irish forward Promise Omochere picked up an injury in February's home game against Cambridge United.

As for Bristol Rovers, they will be without English youngster Jarell Quansah, who will serve the second of his three-game ban following his straight red against Portsmouth on March 18.

On the injury front, Barton will be unable to call upon the likes of Josh Grant, Paul Coutts and Jordan Rossiter, who are all recuperating from injuries.

With his winner against Charlton, Marquis has now been involved in 11 goals in the league this season and the 30-year-old forward could be handed a starting role on Monday.

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:

Lynch; Sarpong-Wiredu, Nsiala, Earl; Rooney, Ndaba, Warrington, Vela, Patterson; Marriott, Stockley

Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:

Belshaw; Hoole, Connolly, Gibson, Gordon; Evans, Bogarde, Ward; Marquis, Coburn, Collins

We say: Fleetwood Town 2-1 Bristol Rovers

Both sides, who are in contention for a top-half finish, are currently separated by two in the table and this makes for an exciting battle at Highbury Stadium. However, Fleetwood have put together a fun run of form at home and we are backing them to extend their dominance over the visitors by claiming all three points in this one.

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