Preview: Bristol Rovers vs. Blackpool - prediction, team news, lineups

Just under a month after their first encounter of the season, Bristol Rovers and Blackpool will lock horns once again in League One, this time at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts are in 11th place in the league standings with 34 points after 25 matches, while the visitors are three places above them with 42 points, although they have played two more games than their opponents.

Match preview

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Bristol Rovers will have to pick themselves up after bowing out of the FA Cup in midweek when they were beaten 3-1 at this venue by Norwich City in their third-round replay.

That result followed a 2-1 away loss to Barnsley last weekend, and the Pirates will now be aiming to avoid a third consecutive league defeat, having lost 3-2 to Wycombe Wanderers in a frantic New Year's Day showdown.

Despite the gap to the top six widening to 15 points on Tuesday night, with 21 games remaining, reaching the playoffs remains a goal for Bristol, but it will require a swift bounce back to form starting against Blackpool.

Matt Taylor will also know that a positive performance will be crucial to help maintain their momentum at home as his side enters a run of fixtures that includes four home games in their next five, while their one away match is a relatively short trip down to Exeter City.

So far, the Pirates have been excellent at the Memorial Stadium, losing only once in 11 League One contests, and they head into this one unbeaten in their last nine, dating back to the end of August.

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Meanwhile, Blackpool will also need to shrug off their midweek disappointment, where they came from two goals down to level proceedings against Nottingham Forest but saw their FA Cup hopes dashed with a Chris Wood strike in extra time.

However, they will come into this match with a psychological advantage as they won the last match between these sides 3-1 at Bloomfield Road two days before Christmas.

Oliver Norburn scored first in the 21st minute that day, followed by goals from Jake Beesley and Jordan Rhodes, while John Marquis scored the only goal for Bristol midway through the first half.

Since then, the Seasiders lost both their away games to Burton Albion and Port Vale without scoring in either match before recording back-to-back home wins over Lincoln City and Exeter leading up to this one.

Blackpool are now on a three-match losing streak on the road and have only managed two wins in 12 away games this season. They were also beaten 2-1 at this venue last term.

Team News

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Bristol have struggled with injuries this season and are set to be without Kal Naismith (hamstring), Rob Atkinson (ACL) and Ayman Benarous (ACL) until late January.

Mark Sykes is expected to remain sidelined until next month with a hamstring injury, although Lewis Gordon did return to the squad against Norwich City, and Jack Hunt also got some much-needed minutes off the bench in just his second match back from a knock.

Blackpool are still without the services of Beesley and Kylian Kouassi due to injury, while Matthew Pennington, who had missed the last five games due to concussion protocols, returned to the squad for the match against Forest.

Kyle Joseph came off the bench to score the leveller in midweek, which could see him return to the starting 11, and he is likely to partner Rhodes at the top end of the pitch.

Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup: Cox; Grant, Crama, Taylor; Thomas, Finley, Evans, Vale, McCormick; Martin, Collins

Blackpool possible starting lineup: Grimshaw; Connolly, Ekpiteta, Husband; Lawrence-Gabriel, Norburn, Morgan, Hamilton, Carey; Joseph, Rhodes

We say: Bristol Rovers 2-1 Blackpool

While Blackpool are carrying slightly better league form into this match, it is hard to ignore Britol's home record this season. The Pirates have only been beaten once at the Memorial Stadium in 11 matches and are unbeaten in their last nine, including five wins. We fancy them to claim another home victory in this one.

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