A return to home comforts against Shrewsbury Town this evening could be exactly what Bristol Rovers need to shift the mood on the back of a disappointing away performance on Saturday in their 3-1 defeat to Huddersfield Town.
As has been pointed out a number of times in the aftermath of the loss, it’s not the result persay that frustrated supporters but the manner of the defeat with Rovers struggling to get any sort of griphold on the game until they were 3-0 down and substitutes came on.
Said substitutes have a case for getting into the starting line up this evening against Salop with the likes of Shaq Forde and goalscorer Isaac Hutchinson particularly standing out.
It will also be interesting to see if Matt Taylor opts for a formation change with Rovers’ in-game switch to a back-four when comfortably behind also making a difference in West Yorkshire over the weekend.
No doubt that there is notable pressure on the Gas and their manager to win this one in front of their home fans against a side currently occupying a spot in the relegation zone, albeit in October.
There will also be some familiar faces in the opposition side with John Marquis and Jordan Rossiter expected to start while Luca Hoole has missed Shrewsbury’s last two outings.
Focusing on Rovers though, changes are expected given that the last match was a defeat as well as the fact that it has been suggested that two games in four days is a significant ask for some players. Here’s how we think Taylor might set his team up tonight…
Goalkeeper and defence
Although none of them fell into the ‘spectacular’ category, Josh Griffiths made some good saves on Saturday and without him the scoreline could have been more damaging. There have been a number of times where we’ve said that already this season with the 23-year-old a great pick up while also evidently having areas of his game that need to be worked on. That’s the whole point of a loan, right?
No doubt the goalkeeper will be itching for a clean sheet having picked up three in his first four matches and now being on a seven-game streak without a shutout.
Ahead of Griffiths, there’s no real reason to change the back-three. The trio of Taylor Moore, James Wilson and Clinton Mola were all busy on Saturday and each had some good moments, bar the three goals conceded. Even if Matt Taylor was to opt for a back-four, you would expect Moore and Wilson to be the centre-back pairing with Mola shifting out to left-back.
Admittedly, it seems unlikely that Taylor will change the formation having worked hard on trying to instil the back-three set up. If it doesn’t work again though, they are flexible enough to switch mid-game.
Midfield
Starting with the wing-backs, Jack Hunt is a no-brainer to start although he could fall into Matt Taylor’s list of players unable to start twice within four matches. He did come off with a fair chunk of the second half to go at Huddersfield though so you would like to think he’s been managed to be in a position to start tonight.
On the opposite flank, Bryant Bilongo had some decent individual moments against the Terriers but also some poor ones whereas Lino Sousa came on and did well, despite missing a great opportunity to make the scoreline 3-2 with a good amount of time to go. The Aston Villa loanee has arguably been unlucky at times not to start and this could well be an opportunity to get back into the side.
In the middle, based on previous instances, Grant Ward is a player who Taylor doesn’t tend to risk when games have a short time frame between them given his injuries last term. Fitness-wise, the midfielder has been as good as Rovers could have hoped for but you can definitely see the manager dropping him to the bench in order to manage his load.
Meanwile, Kamil Conteh and Jamie Lindsay are likely to start you would have thought with the former being a frequent fixture in the side bar the Barnsley game when he was away on international duty with Sierra Leone. There has certainly been improvement in some of his recent performances but now it’s about maintaining that consistency for the 21-year-old.
As for Lindsay, there is a lot to like about the 29-year-old who you can tell will prove to be a significant figure off the pitch as well as on it for this team. Another performance like his display against Charlton last time out in BS7 would be very welcome indeed.
It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see Isaac Hutchinson drop into the vacant midfield spot after his goal against the Terriers. However, instead of having a third midfielder like they did against Huddersfield, you can see the Gas setting up with an extra forward instead, similarly to how they set up against Charlton, which leads us onto the attack.
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Attack
Although Hutchinson got the goal on Saturday, Shaq Forde played a major part in the build-up and was arguably unlucky not to start against Huddersfield having made such a positive impact from the bench against Burton. Surely this is the game in which he gets his first league start?
You could also suggest that Hutchinson could play in there or even bringing Luke Thomas back into the side but that currently seems unlikely based on the fact that he’s been left out of the last two league squads. Forde seems like a solid bet on the right.
Meanwhile on the left, Scott Sinclair certainly has the legs and engine to play a significant portion of tonight’s game on the back of Saturday, in which he was taken off surprisingly early.
Ahead of the pair, there is argument that Promise Omochere could be given a rest with the striker another player frequently referred to by Taylor as one whose fitness isn’t quite at the level of being able to play a full match without it significantly affecting his performance levels. However, he’s certainly Rovers’ best option to lead the line.
The striker was always going to have high expectations place on him being the club’s record signing and, although two goals may be disappointing to some, the 24-year-old is contributing in other ways, getting his third assist of the season against Huddersfield.
Ruel Sotiriou is another player worth mentioning who could come in after a bright cameo from the bench but, if he doesn’t start, the forward is once again a great option to be able to bring off the bench.
Bristol Rovers XI (3-4-2-1): Josh Griffiths; Taylor Moore, James Wilson, Clinton Mola; Jack Hunt, Kamil Conteh, Jamie Lindsay, Lino Sousa; Shaq Forde, Scott Sinclair; Promise Omochere