Seeking to climb out of the League One relegation zone, Cheltenham Town play host to Bristol Rovers at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Neither side could be separated the last time that they locked horns in December when they played out a 1-1 draw at the Memorial Stadium.
Match preview
© Reuters
Since beating Fleetwood 2-1 away from home at the end of March, Cheltenham have kick-started the month of April with three successive defeats against Exeter City, Leyton Orient and basement club Carlisle United, losing 1-0 at home to the latter on Tuesday night.
The Robins failed to register any of their nine shots on target throughout the 90 minutes and were condemned to their 23rd league defeat of the campaign courtesy of a first-half strike from Samuel Lavelle.
Darrell Clarke has won just one of his last 10 league games in charge of Cheltenham, who sit 22nd in the third-tier standings but only two points adrift of safety and with a game in hand on five of the six teams above them up to 16th-placed Bristol Rovers.
Cheltenham will be looking to end a three-game losing streak on home soil this weekend, but that could prove challenging against a Bristol Rovers side whom they have failed to beat in each of their last five meetings, losing four in the process.
Matt Taylor's men have also had little to smile about in recent weeks, though, as they have put together an unwanted seven-game winless run and have worryingly failed to score a single goal during this period.
After playing out a goalless stalemate with Shrewsbury Town on April Fool's Day, the Pirates have since suffered back-to-back 2-0 home defeats to Bolton Wanderers and Reading, losing to the latter on Tuesday night.
Fortunately for Bristol Rovers, they sit 11 points clear of the relegation zone and require just one more victory from their remaining four games to secure their third-tier status. Taylor and co are determined to end the campaign on a high by claiming positive results in their remaining fixtures against Cheltenham, Cambridge United, Peterborough United and Wigan Athletic.
Another target for Bristol Rovers is to surpass their 53-point haul from last season, and victory on Saturday over Cheltenham, whom they have beaten in six of their last eight meetings in all competitions, would see them achieve that with three matches to spare.
Team News
© Reuters
Cheltenham boss Clarke revealed earlier this week that George Lloyd has been playing with a tendon injury and it remains to be seen whether the attacker will still be available for selection this weekend.
A defensive change could be made at left-back with Will Ferry potentially replacing Ben Williams, while top scorer Liam Sercombe, who has nine goals to his name, is set to link arms with Tom Pett and Liam Kinsella in midfield as Joe Nuttall and Aidan Keena battle for a start up front.
As for Bristol Rovers, Tristan Crama (ankle) and Elkan Baggott (calf) are both closing in on a return from injury, but Saturday's game is set to come too soon for the defensive pair.
Chelsea loanee Harvey Vale has missed the last two games through illness, but he should be fit to return to the matchday squad against Cheltenham, while John Marquis will have a tight hamstring assessed ahead of kickoff.
Chris Martin has not scored in any of his last seven appearances, but the experienced striker is in line for a recall, while Brandon Aguilera, Scott Sinclair and James Wilson will also be looking to force their way back into the first XI.
Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:
Southwood; Long, Davies, Bradbury, Ferry; Sercombe, Pett, Kinsella; Thomas, Keena, Harrop
Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:
Ward; Hoole, Wilson, Taylor, Gordon; Vale, Evans, Finley, Sinclair; Aguilera, Martin
We say: Cheltenham Town 1-0 Bristol Rovers
A closely-contested match between two out-of-form teams is in store this weekend, but taking into account the visitors' struggles in front of goal and the hosts' necessity to collect all three points in their quest to avoid the drop, we believe that Cheltenham will find a way to come out on top.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
