Bristol Rovers are approaching a needed break amid the international period but first must direct their attention towards the Bristol Street Motors Trophy as they make the short trip over to Wiltshire to face Swindon Town this evening.
The competition will always be a controversial one in its modern day format but from an internal perspective, it’s an opportunity to pick up some prize money and potentially get a memorable day out at Wembley.
If Rovers are serious about progressing to the knockout stages, realistically only a win will do this evening after they drew with Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s in their last game but saw the academy side take an extra point for winning the penalty shootout.
No doubt that there will be rotation on the back of two league wins within the space of five days which evidently took its toll on a number of players but to what extent won’t be confirmed until 6pm tonight.
Based on who’s available and in need of game time, it could be a good opportunity for Matt Taylor to try out a back-four again. The Gas manager admitted his team will be flexible in regards to formation this season.
It’s also a chance for some players on the fringes to give their manager something to think about going into the break with this the last game until Rovers head to Huddersfield Town on October 19.
Plenty to ponder and, again, it’s tough to gauge exactly what Taylor is thinking until we see the line up. For now though, here’s how we think the League One side might set up against their League Two hosts.
Goalkeeper and defence
Based on the last game, Matt Taylor will likely give Matt Hall another run out in order to give Josh Griffiths some rest. It’s no secret that the 21-year-old had a few poor moments against Tottenham Under-21s but it would be good to see him given another opportunity, especially considering that Bristol Rovers still haven’t found a free agent goalkeeper to bridge the gap between Hall and Griffiths.
Ahead of him, with Clinton Mola Rovers could deploy a back-three but given that James Wilson is unlikely to be deemed fit enough after a hectic week while Michael Forbes is on international duty with Northern Ireland Under-21s, you get the sense that Taylor may opt to use fewer centre-backs just to protect his squad.
Taylor Moore seems to be a shoe-in given that the 27-year-old missed three league games through suspension and made his return from the bench at Burton Albion on Saturday. Meanwhile, Connor Taylor has proven that he can play Saturday, Tuesday so he seems the most likely to keep his place having started the last four matches in Moore’s absence.
In the full-back positions, the manager did hint that Bryant Bilongo is another who could play again after starting at Burton while you would expect Lino Sousa is another certainty having not made it off the bench on Saturday. Sousa has played right-back in a Gas shirt so the Aston Villa loanee could drop in there with Bilongo on the left in order to give Jack Hunt a rest, especially considering that the 33-year-old might have picked up a calf issue at the Pirelli Stadium.
Midfield
This is where there are a number of players crying out for an opportunity, although there may be a few instances where players are deployed slightly out of their preferred position.
Assuming it’s a system with two wingers, Luke Thomas seems likely to come back in after first not making it off the bench against Charlton Athletic and then missing out on the squad for Burton entirely.
Meanwhile, there aren’t as many natural options for the left-hand side bar Micah Anthony who was subject to a loan move that didn’t materialise. In terms of Bristol Rovers’ more attack-minded midfielders, Luke McCormick, Isaac Hutchinson and Kofi Shaw are all in that bracket and may be asked to play slightly out of position on the flank. From our perspective, it’s a decision based on the flip of a coin but, and again this is very much guesswork, it could well be Shaw who comes in there.
The 17-year-old should be starting this game based on how well he did against Spurs Under-21s while also getting a few league opportunities. He hasn’t made a squad since earning his first League One start at Peterborough United so this is a good opportunity for him to once again play against men and see how he comes out.
Meanwhile, one of the unluckiest players not to have started lately is McCormick on the back of his goal against Peterborough. You would expect him to come in in some capacity. Hutchinson is another that has been making squads lately but hasn’t been getting off the bench. He’s someone who hasn’t lived up to the expectations just yet but just needs that one performance that kick starts his Rovers career.
Additionally, Jake Garrett is another player who is due some game time. Kamil Conteh, Jamie Lindsay and Grant Ward evidently now rank above the Blackburn Rovers loanee at the moment so this should be seen as a good chance to get minutes back into the 21-year-old who had started his Rovers career in impressive fashion but struggled against the likes of Barnsley and Wigan and then coming on against Charlton.
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Striker
Another certainty seems to be that Promise Omochere and Ruel Sotiriou will be taken out of the starting line up to manage their bodies but at least one of the duo will likely have to be on the bench given Shaq Forde’s suspension. Frustratingly, the forward cannot play given that he’s still got one more game to serve of a suspension picked up last season when shown a red card in this competition playing for Leyton Orient. This would have been a perfect match for the 20-year-old who got off the mark on Saturday.
Therefore, Gatlin O’Donkor seems to be the obvious pick. The 19-year-old deserved to start against Wycombe on the back of his goal and assist from the bench against Peterborough but struggled to make an impact. However, coming off the bench against Burton he certainly made his presence felt, drawing a foul that saw the Brewers go down to 10 men before getting the assist for Grant Ward’s result-clinching goal.
Again, the formation is very much a guess and he may have someone like Luke McCormick put up there with him in a two but the Oxford United loanee deserves to start tonight.
Bristol Rovers XI (4-4-1-1): Matt Hall; Lino Sousa, Taylor Moore, Connor Taylor, Bryant Bilongo; Luke Thomas, Jake Garrett, Luke McCormick, Kofi Shaw; Isaac Hutchinson; Gatlin O’Donkor