MATCH PREVIEW | Wanderers v Bristol Rovers

Match Preview Bristol Rovers

Wanderers return to the Toughsheet on Saturday to take on Bristol Rovers with seven games left of the League One season.

The Whites delievered in midweek with a much needed Derby Day win over Wigan Athletic, with Chris Forino's late winner firing the Whites into the final Play-Off spot ahead of this weekend.

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Chris Forino celebrating at Wigan

Bristol Rovers suffered a late defeat to league leaders Birmingham City last time out, with a Jay Stansfield 85th minute penalty giving the Blues all three points.

The Gas sit three points above the relegation zone, with Burton Albion breathing down their necks as we enter the final stages of the season.

Press Conference

Steven Schumacher: "As I said right after the game, it's important that we enjoy that night because it's been a long time. And to win it in the way that we did was brilliant. There's nothing better than winning a derby game in the last minute, especially a derby game that was as competitive as it was.

"It was a real battle and the players showed a different side to them. They found a way to win a game that probably isn't a usual way that Bolton, over the years, have won games of football. So, yeah, it was a great night. 

"As I said to the players, make sure you enjoy it. But once you get back in on Thursday morning it's forgotten about. We need to prepare for Bristol Rovers because that's now the next biggest challenge.

"And this league proves over and over again that if you're not right on your game, if you don't do the basics well, if you don't focus on the details, then you get punished. We've seen in the previous three games before we played Wigan that we did well in certain stages but got punished for mistakes and weren't clinical in the final third. 

"So, that'll be the message to the players. We have to make sure that we're right, because we're coming up against a team who've beaten us recently and a team who are down the bottom end of the league fighting for their lives. They're going to be fully motivated to come here and try and cause an upset and we need to make sure that we get the three points that we want.” 

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Steven Schumacher Wigan

Bristol Rovers Boss Iñigo Calderón: "It’s going to be a great challenge because we know away from home, we haven’t been good enough. We cannot start thinking about the past anymore, and the next one is the most important one.

"We know it’s going to be a difficult challenge because they are in good form. We try to put that as a challenge for us. We try to improve the things we haven’t done away from home.

"The good thing every time coming to the training ground is that I feel good with the boys, and the way they performed yesterday in a difficult situation gives me the belief that we are doing things right. 

"We try to approach the game the same way. We try to train the same way. We try to name the team the same way. So, everything is the same, but at the time, I don’t think we can go crazy about that because if you see all the divisions in the football world, the teams down there struggle to get the points away from home, and that’s the reality."

Team News

Kyle Dempsey travelled with the squad on Tuesday night and is making good progress to potentially feature during the run-in after featuring in two B Team games.

Aaron Morley returns from suspension after missing the Wigan success due to a red card received against Blackpool last weekend.

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Aaron Morley Blackpool

Defender Joel Senior will be the only player missing for Rovers. The 25-year-old felt something in his ankle this week which will keep him out for several days and will miss Saturday's fixture.

Form Guide

Wanderers had struggled to find form - despite performances perhaps deserving more - before Tuesday night's derby victory, but now hold their fate in their own hands having moved into the play-off places.

The Whites will know what play-off rivals Reading have done ahead of kick-off with the Royals hosting Wycombe at the earlier time of 12:30 who sit just one point off Wanderers.

Bristol Rovers have lost every game since their victory over the Whites in mid-March, conceding 10 goals in those four defeats.

It's the Gas' away form which has let them down this season. They have the worst away record in League One, with just three league away wins with the most recent victory coming in early January against Cambridge United.

Kick-Off

Saturday 3pm

Referee

Anthony Backhouse is the man in the middle this weekend.

Backhouse officiated Steven Schumacher's first game in charge when Wanderers faced Reading back in February.

Tickets/Wanderers TV

Over 21,000 will be backing Steven Schumacher's men this weekend and you can join them by grabbing your ticket HERE. Tickets are just £10 for Adults and £5 for Over 65s & Under 18s.

For those without a ticket, audio passes will be available, as always, for UK-based supporters to listen to full commentary with Derek Clark and John McGinlay via Wanderers TV. Those based internationally can stream the game through a live video match pass on Wanderers TV.

Click HERE to purchase a pass.

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