Fleetwood Town v Bristol Rovers
Highbury Stadium, Sky Bet League One, Tuesday 12 March 2024, 7.45pm
A midweek trip to Lancashire awaits Bristol Rovers as the Gas travel to face Fleetwood Town on Tuesday evening.
Matt Taylor’s side have a quick turnaround from their last fixture, a home defeat to Derby County, but travel to Highbury Stadium having secured a win at Leyton Orient in their last away fixture.
Fleetwood, meanwhile, drew 0-0 away to Stevenage at the weekend and sit 22nd in the league table.
Travel...
If travelling by car, exit the M6 at Junction 32 and take the M55 towards Blackpool. Leave the M55 at Junction 3 and take the A585 towards Fleetwood.
Continue on and take the left onto Copse Road, go past Fleetwood Fire station and turn left on Radcliffe Road. Take the next right on to Stanley Road and the stadium is at the bottom of the road.
Supporters are advised that no parking is available at the ground.
If travelling by train, the closest mainline station is Blackpool North. Buses, trams and taxis are available to take you close to Highbury Stadium.
Form Guide…
Defeat to Derby County on Saturday put an end to Rovers’ winning run in League One, although the Gas have claimed three wins in the last five league matches.
A 1-0 victory away at Leyton Orient, prior to the loss to the Rams, was preceded by comeback victories against Carlisle United and Stevenge. An away loss to Northampton Town was sandwiched between the two.
Fleetwood, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last four league matches, although three of those games have been draws. The Fishermen drew with Stevenage on Saturday but defeated Wigan Athletic 4-2 in their last home fixture.
Charlie Adam’s side have lost just twice in their last ten league matches, picking up 14 points.
Opposition…
The club known as Fleetwood Town has gone through a number of iterations during its history.
In its current standing, the club has been around since 1997. Originally known as Fleetwood Wanderers, the side rebranded back to ‘Fleetwood Town’ in 2002 and embarked on a remarkable rise through the footballing pyramid.
Pushing through the non-league tables at an impressive pace, Fleetwood achieved promotion to the Football League for the first time in the 2011/12 season. Just three years later, the Fishermen had reached League One after beating Burton Albion in the play-off finals; achieving a sixth promotion in ten years.
Since then, Fleetwood have been an established side in England’s third tier, toying with promotion through the play-offs on one or two occasions.
The 2023/24 season started in near disaster, though, with six defeats in their opening seven league matches. A switch in manager, from Scott Brown to Lee Johnson, failed to yield the desired change in form for the Lancashire side, and former Liverpool, Blackpool and Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam was appointed to the role at the end of 2023.
With 14 points since coming into the role, and a host of new faces for the squad in January, Adam and Fleetwood will be hopeful of a run of form to avoid relegation.
Previous Meetings…
Rovers and Fleetwood only met for the first time back in 2012, in League Two, and since then have faced each other 17 times in league football.
The Gas are unbeaten on their last three trips to Highbury Stadium, picking up a 2-1 win away last season courtesy of goals from Lewis Gibson and Grant Ward.
Fleetwood were winners at the Memorial Stadium earlier this season, however, picking up a 2-0 win in the south west in early February.
Match Officials…
Referee: Ross Joyce
Assistant Referees: Christopher Ward and Lewis Raper
Fourth Official: Dean Watson
What Are The Odds?
Rovers are currently available at 19/10 for the win while Chris Martin is at 11/2 to score the first goal at The Mem on Saturday.
Odds correct at the time of writing. To see more information click HERE. Please bet responsibly.