Preview: Doncaster Rovers vs. Harrogate Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams that struggled in League Two last season will meet on the opening matchday of the 2023-24 campaign, with Doncaster Rovers welcoming Harrogate Town to the Eco-Power Stadium.

Doncaster finished 18th in League Two last term, three points above 19th-placed Harrogate, and both sides will be hoping to show huge improvement during the new campaign.

Match preview

© Reuters

Doncaster were in the Championship as recently as 2014, but they have either been in League Two or League One since then, dropping out of the third tier of English football at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.

There is no getting away from the fact that the 2022-23 season proved to be a hugely disappointing one for Rovers, who only picked up 55 points from 46 matches to sit down in 18th, 12 points above the relegation zone.

Doncaster have been very active this summer in terms of their recruitment, with Joe Ironside, Ian Lawlor and Richard Wood among those to make the move to the club.

Grant McCann is also back at the helm for a second spell in charge, and the club's supporters will be demanding major improvements during the new season.

Rovers have been busy this summer in terms of friendlies, playing six times in total, and they won their final two pre-season matches against Sheffield Wednesday and Port Vale.

© Reuters

Harrogate, meanwhile, are preparing for their fourth straight League Two season, having finished 19th in the fourth tier of English football last term, some nine points above the relegation zone.

Simon Weaver's side have claimed 17th, 19th and 19th in their three campaigns at this level since earning promotion from the National League in 2020, but it is going to be a real challenge to solidify themselves as a Football League outfit on a long-term basis.

Harrogate have also been busy this summer in terms of incomings, with their standout arrivals proving to be Dean Cornelius and Matty Daly, who have moved from Motherwell and Huddersfield Town respectably.

Weaver's team have played five friendlies this summer, opening their preparations for the new campaign with a 2-0 victory over Darlington in the middle of July.

Harrogate will also enter this match off the back of a win, having beaten Hartlepool United 2-1 in their last friendly on July 28.

Team News

Doncaster are set to have a number of debutants on display in this match, with Ironside expected to operate at the tip of the attack.

Deji Sotona, who has arrived from Burnley, is also likely to feature in the final third of the field, while experienced centre-back Wood should make his first appearance for the club at the back.

Lawlor is set to be the club's new number one goalkeeper, while Jamie Sterry will be hoping to secure the right-back position following his arrival from Hartlepool.

Harrogate, meanwhile, should also have a number of new faces on display in their opening match of the 2023-24 League Two campaign.

Cornelius and Matty Daly are expected to come straight into the side, while Liam Gibson and Rod McDonald could both feature for the first time at the back.

Luke Armstrong was Harrogate's leading goalscorer last season with 16, and the 25-year-old will operate in the final third of the field for the visitors this weekend.

Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:

Lawlor; Sterry, Bailey, Wood, Senior; Broadbent, Rowe, Hurst; Sotona, Ironside, Miller

Harrogate Town possible starting lineup:

Oxley; Gibson, McDonald, O'Connor, Mattock; Falkingham, Cornelius, M. Daly; Folarin, Armstrong, Muldoon

We say: Doncaster Rovers 2-2 Harrogate Town

Harrogate actually won the corresponding match 2-0 last season, but the two teams played out a 2-2 draw in their last meeting in April. There is not much to choose between the sides, and we are expecting a draw this weekend, but there is plenty of attacking quality in both teams, so it should be an entertaining affair.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.