Forest Green Rovers v Harrogate Town

Forest Green Rovers have already sealed their first ever promotion to League One and will have their sights set on sealing the title with Exeter City breathing down their neck. 

Rob Edwards’ side were beaten 2-1 away by Swindon Town in mid-week and will be looking to bounce back from that by beating a Harrogate Town side who have absolutely nothing to play for this weekend. Speaking after their defeat to the Robins on Tuesday night, Rovers’ boss said that the title race is “going all the way” to the end. The Gloucestershire outfit are without 27-goal striker Matty Stevens until the end of the season which is a blow but they have a perfectly capable striker in Jamille Matt to fire them the goals in their final two clashes. He has chipped in with 19 goals in all competitions in this campaign, with the likes of Jack Aitchison and Josh March providing useful competiton for places up there too if needed. Forest Green’s home form gives them confidence going into this weekend’s encounter and they are unbeaten in their last five outings at New Lawn which has helped them get over the line and promoted. They are the highest scorers in League Two by far on 72 goals and will scare the life out of Harrogate’s shaky backline. 

Harrogate have been on the beach for about two months now and will be desperate for this season to end so they can put their feet up for a bit. They have won just twice in their last 13 matches in the league and have slipped down to 19th in the league table. The Yorkshire side have stayed up comfortably though and their manager, Simon Weaver, has admitted it has “not been an easy season” for his side. To make matters worse for the Sulphurites, they are having rotten luck on the injury front recently and have Mark Oxley, Ryan Fallowfield, Lewis Page, Josh Falkingham, Will Smith, Calum Kavanagh, Lloyd Kerry, Brahima Diarra and Lewis Richards all currently sidelined. Kerry, who is retiring at the end of this season, is out for the trip to Forest Green and could play his final game next weekend against Carlisle United. Harrogate’s away form has been poor recently and they have won just once in their last six games on the road and that was against bottom of the league Scunthorpe United. 

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Tranmere Rovers v Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic have become the first former Premier League club to be relegated to non-league following their 2-1 home defeat to Salford City last week. 

Tranmere Rovers take on the Latics this weekend as they look to make a late push back towards the play-off positions. The Merseyside club are four points off the top seven with two games left and simply have to win this one. They were beaten 2-0 away by Stevenage last weekend and their boss, Micky Mellon, apologised to supporters and will be eager for a response from his team in their final home game of the campaign. Tranmere’s form on home soil has been strong this term and they are unbeaten in their last eight outings there spanning back to their defeat to table toppers Forest Green Rovers back on 29th January, which in turn is their only defeat at Prenton Park in 2022. The Whites have received a boost on the selection front with winger Kieron Morris and Callum MacDonald back from suspension for the game on Saturday, whilst defender Nathaniel Knight-Percival should be fit after returning to training last week. Morris, who has chipped in with 10 goal contributions in this campaign, should come back into the starting XI for either Josh Hawkes or Callum McManaman. 

Oldham turned to John Sheridan to save them from relegation but the popular boss has failed in his quest to keep them up. Nevertheless, the North West club are hoping he stays to lead them into the National League and are planning contract talks with him. There are more pressing matters for the Boundary Park club off the pitch at the moment and they risk going into administration if formerowner Simon Blitz calls in his debt. They are a mess from top to bottom and saw fans invade the pitch in their last home game in protest against their current ownership. The Latics are there for the taking now and the football doesn’t really matter for them anymore with a number of players out of contract next month anyway. Sheridan’s men have been in dire form and have lost their last four matches in a row. Tranmere will also be confident of getting a win based on the fact that Oldham have won just once in their last eight away games and have the 2nd worst defensive record in League Two behind 24th place Scunthorpe United. 

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Swindon Town v Barrow

Swindon Town need a win this weekend against a Barrow side who have nothing to play for to keep their play-off hopes alive. 

The Robins are currently sat in 8th position in the League Two table and are two points behind 7th place Sutton United with just two games left to play. They picked up a big 2-1 win at home to table toppers Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday night thanks to goals from striker Louis Barry and attacking midfielder Jack Payne to boost their promotion hopes. Their boss, Ben Garner, said his side were “fantastic” and they are hitting form at the right time. The Wiltshire club have won three out of their last four matches and have won their last two in a row now after seeing off Hartlepool United 3-0 away last weekend, scoring five goals in the process and conceding once. Their upturn in performances have been because of the return of key player Harry McKirdy from injury and the former Aston Villa man has scored 20 goals in all competitions this term. The Robins will be without the suspended Ellis Iandolo for their clash against Barrow on Saturday after he saw red against Forest Green. However, they have a ready-made replacement in the form of Akin Odimayo who is the most likely to slot in for him. 

Barrow are safe now and can afford to take their foot off the gas. Their decision to sack Mark Cooper and bring in Phil Brown has turned out to be the right one and the former Premier League manager has said he is “open” to discussions about extending his stay in Cumbria. He managed Swindon in 2018 and takes his Bluebirds’ squad down to the County Ground for a tricky game after their midweek loss to Exeter City away. In terms of team news, they have been without striker Aaron Amadi-Holloway and defender Tom Beadling recently, with Josh Gordon and Niall Canavan filling in for those two respectively, and they will have to assess the pair ahead of this one. Barrow haven’t scored enough goals this season and are sat in 20th place mainly due to the fact they are the 4th lowest scorers in the whole division. They are no longer fighting for their lives and won’t pose much of a threat to a Swindon team who are desperately in need of all three points and are in decent form right now. 

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Sutton United v Bradford City

Sutton United have had a very impressive first season in the Football League and their fate is in their own hands as they look to reach the play-offs. 

The U’s are currently 7th in the League Two table and are two points above 8th position Swindon Town with two games left. Matt Gray’s side are in action this weekend against a Bradford City side who have nothing to play for and will have their sights set on the summer already. Sutton beat Crawley Town 3-0 at home on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Alistair Smith (x2) and Richie Bennett and Gray said his side were “excellent and deserved the win”. They will be looking to extend their impressive run of form at Gander Green Lane this Saturday with another win and the London club hold the best home form in the country in the country at the moment and are unbeaten in their last 19 outings. Their last loss came way back on 30th October against Walsall and they also haven’t conceded in over 270 minutes there either. Sutton received a boost with key midfielder Harry Beautyman returning to the starting XI against Crawley Town and will also assess skipper Craig Eastmond before their game against Bradford. If he is still unavailable, Alistair Smith proved with his brace last time out that he is a perfectly adequate replacement in the middle of the park and Kenny Davis can slot in there as well if needed. 

Bradford’s season is over and they can start to look forward to Mark Hughes’ first full campaign at the helm next term. They narrowly beat Scunthorpe United 2-1 in their last game courtesy of early goals by midfielder Jamie Walker and striker Charles Vernam and Hughes said he saw the “potential of the team” with that victory. The Bantams will have Walker and Elliot Watt fit for their trip to Sutton and they have both trained this week after picking up knocks against the Iron. They may also hand an opportunity to attacker Abo Eisa, who hasn’t played since November due to a hamstring injury, which suggests changes could be made to hand fringe players the opportunity to impress which will play into their opponents hands as they need the win way more. Bradford’s current away form will also give a confidence boost to Sutton and the Yorkshire outfit haven’t won in their last three matches on the road against Bristol Rovers, Northampton Town and Colchester United.

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Rochdale v Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers are still in with a shout of gaining automatic promotion from League Two this season as they prepare for two big upcoming games. 

Rochdale welcome the Gas to the North West this weekend having already secured their Football League status for another year. It is easy to forget that they were actually relegated from League One last season as they have massively underperformed this term and currently sit 18th in the league table after an underwhelming campaign. Their boss, Robbie Stockdale, has struggled at times but the main thing is that he has kept them up. Speaking after their 2-0 loss away at Exeter City last time out, the former Sunderland coach said it was “frustrating to watch” and he will surely just want this season to end so he can bolster his squad in the next transfer window. Stockdale put young prospects Jordan Scanlon and Peter Thomas on the bench for the first time last weekend against the Grecians which suggests he isn’t really taking their next two clashes that seriously. Rochdale are also missing six first-team players through injury with Jeriel Dorsett, George Broadbent, James Ball, Tahvon Campbell, Liam Kelly and Danny Cashman all out which is a big boost for Bristol Rovers ahead of Saturday. Furthermore, the Dale aren’t the most prolific in front of goal and have failed to score in five out of their last eight matches. 

Bristol Rovers need to win at Spotland and are two points off the top three and three points inside the play-offs. They drew 0-0 with top of the table Forest Green Rovers in their last game and are now unbeaten in their last five league outings as they chase down a return to League One. Speaking ahead of their crucial trip up north this weekend, their boss, Joey Barton, has said that they have a “chance of the autos (top three)” if they can win their next two matches. They are likely to be without defender Alfie Kilgour until the end of the season but that isn’t really a problem with Connolly and Conor Taylor currently in impressive form in defence. Barton’s men have been solid at the back over recent games and have conceded just once in their last three matches, with a special mention for experienced goalkeeper James Belshaw between the sticks needed for that as well. Bristol Rovers have won five out of their last six away trips as they prepare to lock horns with Rochdale and will be confident of picking up another big win.

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