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

Fleetwood Town were one of seven League Two clubs to secure victories in the opening weekend, and the Cod Army welcome Bristol Rovers to Highbury Stadium in gameweek two on Saturday, aiming to maintain their flawless start to the 2025-26 season.

Pete Wild's team beat Barnet 2-0 last weekend, while their visitors, who were relegated from League One last season, started the season with a 1-0 home defeat against Harrogate Town.

Match preview

After finishing last season 14th with 60 points, seven places and 10 points outside the playoff spots, Fleetwood kicked off the new campaign with a routine win over Barnet in gameweek one.

Will Davies and Elliot Bonds scored for the Fishermen, who also benefitted from Jay Lynch's impressive shot-stopping at the other end, and Wild’s team now aim for consecutive wins to start the season.

Having lost four of their last six League Two matches to end 2024-25, the opening weekend victory was anticipated for the Lancashire-based side, which entered the season unbeaten, winning all four of their pre-season games.

Another highlight from the opening weekend was the team's clean sheet, their first in three competitive or friendly fixtures since a 4-0 win over Bamber Bridge at the start of July.

Now aiming to keep back-to-back clean sheets since February, when they beat Cheltenham 2-0 and drew a goalless game with Tranmere Rovers, the home fans will hope for success on Saturday to continue their promising start.

You would forgive the travelling support for expecting the worst in round two after a tough start following last season’s relegation from League One.

Despite a positive pre-season under new manager Darrell Clarke, who oversaw four wins from six after replacing Inigo Calderon, the defeat against Harrogate last weekend was a setback supporters in South West England did not need.

Considering their struggles in League One, Bristol are winless in competitive matches since March, falling to 10 losses in 11 games, with a 1-1 draw at Wrexham in April being the only result avoiding defeat.

Trying to break that winless streak against Fleetwood is no easy task, especially given their opponents' unbeaten run since pre-season and strong record against the Pirates.

While Bristol did win 2-1 at Highbury Stadium in April 2023, that remains their only victory in the last nine fixtures between the sides, with only a point collected from the last six available in league matches in the 2023-24 season.

With recent results not favouring the away side, travelling fans might expect more disappointment when visiting Highbury Stadium on Saturday.

Fleetwood Town League Two form:

Bristol Rovers League Two form:

Team News

Fleetwood’s squad remains largely intact after their opening weekend, although Ronan Coughlan is sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury.

Goalscorers Davies and Bonds, along with goalkeeper Lynch, were influential last weekend, while Denver Hume impressed with his tenacity from left wing-back, winning eight of his eight duels and making seven tackles, and the wide defender will hope to deliver another strong showing in round two.

Clarke's squad appears to be in good shape with no injury issues following gameweek one.

Even though good performances were few and far between, both Alfie Kilgour and Kamil Conteh, who performed well at centre-back and central midfield respectively, will be looking to play as commendably.

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:

Lynch; Mullarkey, Bolton, Medley; Rooney, Neal, Bonds, Hume; Helm; Graydon, Davies

Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Moore, Kilgour, Mola; Senior, Conteh, McEachran, Sparkes; Sotiriou, Thomas; Omochere

We say: Fleetwood Town 2-0 Bristol Rovers

Despite their efforts, Bristol are enduring a miserable run of results in competitive fixtures.

Against a confident Fleetwood side, the Pirates could face further disappointment as the hosts are favourites to secure back-to-back League Two victories to start the season.

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