Bristol Rovers host Northampton Town at the Memorial Stadium this weekend in an important game of League One football. The two sides sit in the bottom half of the table and will be looking for a win to put even more distance between them and the relegation zone.
Bristol Rovers currently sit 16th in League One after 13 games. The Gas have four wins, four draws and five losses, leaving them on 16 points, five points above the relegation zone.
In their last five games in all competitions, Rovers have one win, one draw and three losses. Archie Finn Collins and David Ajiboye both scored in the 2 - 0 win for Peterborough over Rovers, in a game where Rovers could only manage two shots on target. The one win came against Port Vale. Jesse Debrah was sent off in the first half for Port Vale which opened the floodgates for Luke McCormick, Jack Hunt and Jevani Brown to all score in the 3 - 0 win for The Gas.
There were three different red cards in the clash with Oxford United. Brown was sent off in the 63rd minute for Rovers, whereas both Oisin Smyth and Stanley Mills were both sent off in extra time. Despite all of this, Billy Bodin and Sam Long both scored in the 2 - 1 win for Oxford, with Aaron Collins scoring for Rovers. Anthony Evans opened the scoring for Rovers, but a brace from Beryly Lubala and goals from Joe Powell and Kwadwo Baah gave Burton the 4 - 1 win over ten man Rovers, with Ryan Woods sent off.
The last time out for Rovers was against Stevenage. Jamie Reid scored in the first half for Stevenage, but Chris Martin equalised late on for Rovers to grab a 1 - 1 draw.
Northampton Town currently sit 19th in League One. In 13 games, Northampton have four wins, two draws and seven losses, leaving them on 14 points, just three points above the relegation zone.
In their last five games in all competitions, Northampton have two wins, a draw and two losses. Sam Hoskins opened the scoring in the 20th minute for Northampton against Exeter City, but Patrick Brough left it late to double the score as Northampton won 2 - 0. The other win came against Reading. Hoskins once again opened the scoring in the 10th minute and a goal from Louis George Appere doubled Northampton’s lead before halftime. Dom Ballard got Reading on the scoresheet, but a late goal from Mitch Pinnock gave Northampton the 3 - 1 win over ten man Reading, who had Andy Yiadom sent off late on.
Daniel Udoh scored the only goal of the game in the 91st minute to give Shrewsbury the 1 - 0 win over Northampton. Another loss was served up for Northampton against Bolton. Dion Charles and Randell Williams gave Bolton the 2 - 0 lead and despite a goal from Hoskins, Bolton still won 2 - 1.
The most recent outing for Northampton was against Leyton Orient. Hoskins was once again on the scoresheet for Northampton, this time with a brace. But with the sending off of Northampton’s Kieron Bowie, Rob Hunt and Shaq Forde both scored as the game finished 2 - 2.
Bristol Rovers and Northampton have met 106 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming back in 1908. Not much separates the two teams, with Rovers having 39 wins and Northampton having 38 wins, with the other 29 games ending in a draw.