|
Rovers, who will once again be without a number of key players, will be looking to continue their recent good home form in League One against a side who last weekend managed a 2-2 draw away to Fulham in the F.A. Cup third round.
Bristol Rovers team profile:
Formed: 1883
Ground: The Memorial Ground
Manager: Paul Trollope
Nickname: The Pirates
Season Finish 2006/07: 6th (Promoted via Play-Offs) (Coca-Cola League Two)
Previous Meetings:
Tranmere and Bristol Rovers haven't met since the 1992/93 season, when both sides were in Division One, or the Coca-Cola Championship as it is now known.
On the 28th August 1992, Tranmere Rovers beat The Pirates 2-1 at Prenton Park, before travelling south in February to take on Bristol Rovers and losing 1-0.
Vital Stats:
In eleven meetings between the two sides at Prenton Park, Bristol Rovers have actually picked up more wins than Tranmere, with four wins compared to the Wirral sides' four
Tranmere won the 1989/90 F.A. Vase against Bristol Rovers at Wembley thanks to a 2-1 win
Tranmere have only beaten the Pirates six times in 22 matches, with Bristol Rovers picking up twelve wins
Bristol Rovers have played at eight different home venues
These two sides first met in the F.A. Cup in 1931, but the first league meeting between the two teams didn't come until the 1967/68 season in Division Three
On This Day:
1992: Tranmere lose 1-0 away to Bristol Rovers in Division Two
1989: Rovers lose 2-1 away to Reading in the F.A. Cup
1986: Local rivals Chester City beat Tranmere 1-0 at the Deva Stadium in Division Four
From eight previous fixtures on January 11th, Tranmere have picked up just two wins, as well as three draws and three defeats. They have scored nine goals and conceded eight.
The Form Book:
Tranmere last 6 home games: DWWWLL
Bristol Rovers last 6 away games: DWLLLD
Bristol Rovers' away form has not been impressive as of yet in League One this season, and therefore their 2-2 draw with Fulham in the F.A. Cup last weekend came as a shock to everybody.
The Pirates twice lead the game thanks to goals from Coles and Hinton in either half, but Fulham hit back with David Healy and Danny Murphy earning the Premiership side a replay at The Memorial Ground.
In the first match of their six match sequence, Bristol Rovers started their F.A. Cup run with a decent 1-1 draw away against Leyton Orient before losing three away games in a row.
Firstly Rovers lost 1-0 away to Swindon Town, a result which Tranmere had also "achieved" earlier in the season, before losing 2-1 against Huddersfield Town.
The Pirates then lost, in no great shame, away to Leeds United in front of a crowd of nearly 28,000, with Leeds winning the game in the 84th minute thanks to a strike from Howson.
In their most recent away League game, Rovers won 1-0 away at high-flying Southend, with Williams getting the only goal just before the hour mark. This result was followed by Rovers' draw at Fulham.
Other notable results away from the Memorial Ground this season for Bristol include wins over Northampton Town (1-0), Oldham Athletic (1-0) and Luton Town (2-1), all in League One.
From twelve away league games, Bristol Rovers have picked up 15 points from an available 36, thanks to four wins and three draws to go with five defeats.
Impressive home results for Bristol Rovers include wins over Carlisle United (3-0), Millwall (2-1) and a 5-1 F.A. Cup win against Rushden and Diamonds.
There has been a sudden up turn in Tranmere's recent home form, as they come into this game with three wins on the bounce in League One at Prenton Park, these preceeding a draw in the F.A. Cup.
In the first match of their six match sequence, Tranmere lost 1-0 to Oldham Athletic thanks to a last minute winner before Rovers then lost to Swansea City at Prenton Park by the same score line, with a Steven Jennings own goal in the final ten minutes costing Rovers the game.
Since though, Tranmere are unbeaten on home soil. First, they beat Bournemouth 3-1 in awful conditions at Prenton Park, before following this up with a brilliant 2-0 win over Carlisle United on Boxing Day.
A drab 1-0 win over Cheltenham Town a few days later followed, with Calvin Zola getting the only goal, before Rovers then drew 2-2 in the F.A. Cup third round against Hereford United, with the home side having to come from behind twice to draw the game.
Other notable home results for Tranmere this season include wins over Huddersfield Town (3-0) and Luton Town (2-1).
From twelve home league games, Tranmere have picked up 21 points from an available 36 thanks to six wins, three draws and three defeats.
Impressive away results for Tranmere include league wins over Carlisle (1-0), Gillingham (2-0) and Southend (2-1) as well as a 3-0 F.A. Cup win at Bradford.
Double Hit:
Current Tranmere Rovers striker Gareth Taylor played his first professional game for Bristol Rovers during the 1991-92 season.
Taylor started his career as a junior at Southampton but failed to break into the first team on the south coast and joined the Pirates on a free-transfer in summer 1991.
The striker made his name for the club, scoring 16 goals in 58 appearances, which earnt him a £1,250,000 move to Crystal Palace in 1995.
However, Taylor didn't even last a season at Selhurst Park, scoring just twice in 22 appearances before joining Sheffield United on a free-transfer in March 1996.
Taylor stayed with the Blades for over two and a half years, scoring 24 goals in 105 appearances in his two years with the club. However, his stays at many clubs have been brief and in 1998 he left United for Manchester City for £400,000.
55 appearances followed for City as he netted just ten goals for the club, and so he was shipped out on-loan to Port Vale, Burnley and QPR whilst he was with the club, where he played a further 25 games and scored five goals.
After impressing at Burnley, Taylor joined the club on a permanent basis in February 2001 where he stayed for just over two years, scoring another 33 goals before joining Nottingham Forest in August 2003 for £500,000.
24 goals in three seasons at the City Ground followed, but Taylor was not a popular figure amongst the Forest faithful, and so he left the club for Crewe on-loan.
Taylor played 15 games and scored four goals for Crewe in his loan spell there, before joining Tranmere on a free transfer at the start of the 2006/07 season.
He has now played 64 games for Tranmere and scored thirteen goals, of which four have come this season.
In his whole career, Taylor has scored 132 goals, many of which have been towering headers as opposed to 25-yard efforts with his feet, as the 6'02 tall striker is a great example of the old fashioned British centre-forward.
After impressive at club level, Taylor won a call up to the Welsh national squad, for whome he has played twelve games.
One To Watch: Rickie Lambert
Former Rochdale and Stockport County player Rickie Lambert has set League One alight so far this season, with some stunning long range strikes.
Lambert has played a large majority of his career in the North-West, starting his career in the professional game with Blackpool after being born in Liverpool.
He made three appearances, all as a substitute, for the Tangerines between 1998 and 2000, before signing for Macclesfield Town on a free-transfer in March 2001 after being out of the game for nearly four months following his release by Blackpool.
Lambert stayed with the Silk men for just over a year, scoring ten goals in just over 49 appearances for the club before joining Stockport County in April 2002 for a fee of £300,000.
In his first full season with the Hatters, Lambert was playing in League One after Stockport won promotion in the season Lambert signed for the club.
Eventually, Lambert would go on to play 110 games for Stockport, the team believed to have "the most terrace chants in the Football League", netting on nineteen occasions in the process.
However, Lambert was to leave Stockport for Rochdale on a free transfer during their relegation season back down to Coca Cola League Two.
It was whilst with the Dale that the midfielders profile really began to rise. He was employed not only as a midfielder but as a striker too, and this became a position which Lambert played well in League Two.
Lambert went on to play 68 games for the club, netting on 28 times as he was not only employed as a midfielder but a striker too.
In August 2006, on the final day of the transfer window, Lambert left Rochdale for Bristol Rovers for a fee of £200,000. He won promotion in his first season with the club and has now played 78 games, scoring 20 goals.
The Rovers number nine can play in midfield or attack and is known to score the spectacular goal. He is a dead-ball specialist, getting a number of his goals from set-pieces, and although he may not be blessed with pace, he also plays the role of a target man well, winning a number of headers from his height of 6'02.
Around League One:
There are, as per usual, some important fixtures around League One this weekend, with a number of teams still having interest in the promotion places.
Starting on Friday night, where Tranmere's game against Bristol Rovers is the only fixture. After their dissapointing away result to Leyton Orient, Tranmere can move within three points of the play-offs should they win from ninth place in League One, whilst Bristol Rovers are nineteenth in the table and could drop into the relegation spots should they lose and results go against them this weekend.
At the bottom end of the table, there are two big relegation clashes as Bournemouth travel to Whaddon Road to take on Cheltenham whilst Millwall are away to Port Vale, with three of those clubs stuck in the bottom four.
At the other end of the table, third placed Nottingham Forest take on sixth placed Leyton Orient at the City Ground, with Orient looking to continue their form after a confidence boosting 3-0 win over Tranmere in mid-week.
Southend United will be looking to improve their poor home form as they take on Yeovil Town at Roots Hall, with Yeovil just two places behind them in the League One table whilst Carlisle United face a tough trip to Doncaster Rovers.
Swansea City will be looking to bounce back from their dissapointing 1-1 draw in the F.A. Cup against Havant and Waterlooville as they play cash-strapped Luton Town at Kenilworth Road whilst on Monday night Leeds United make the trip to Crewe.
Team News:
Tranmere are again going to be without some key players for this Friday night fixture. Wingers Chris Shuker and Steve Davies are both out for the season with cruciate knee-ligament damage whilst Ian Goodison sits out the third match of a four game ban. Defender Andy Taylor is unlikely to feature as transfer speculation still surrounds the Blackburn youngster whilst Shane Sherriff is also suspended for the match. Finally, striker Chris Greenacre has a groin strain and is doubtful for the match.
Jones' Prediction: Tranmere Rovers 3-1 Bristol Rovers
Since Goodison has been missing, Tranmere have really struggled to keep the goals out, conceeding seven goals in only just over two games. However, Bristol Rovers don't pose that great an attacking threat and Tranmere really should be able to beat the team currently lying in nineteenth place in League One.
Again, Tranmere have the two wingers missing, but hopefully Ronnie Moore will give youngster Mike Jones a chance on the right-wing from the start, whilst Jennison Myrie-Williams will be on the left-wing, and if he crosses the ball earlier he could pose a real threat.
Another home is that the manager will player Craig Curran up front from the start, either with Zola or Taylor, as it is surely now his chance to get a game for the first team because he has been knocking the door for some time and poses a real threat to defences in League One with his great pace and natural finishing ability.