Bristol Rovers will be in action on Tuesday in what is their final scheduled pre-season friendly match before the League One campaign officially gets started.
They will welcome Championship side Stoke City to the Memorial Stadium, with the Potters hoping to get back to winning ways following two games without a victory.
Match preview
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Joey Barton will be hoping for an ideal performance on Tuesday as Bristol Rovers put together their final pre-season friendly before the new campaign gets underway.
So far the squad have had mixed results, with a couple of draws and defeats, while they also got to play Swansea City in a behind-closed-doors match as well.
Last season saw Bristol Rovers earn promotion last season, and now they are gearing up to make the step up to League One.
The Gas were a great goal threat throughout the 2021-22 campaign, scoring 71 times in the league, and that is something they shall be aiming to carry on.
With this being the final pre-season match they have, Barton's main concern will no doubt be on ensuring his squad finishes with no injuries, but a victory would go a long way in preparing them.
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For the visitors, they still have one more game to go before their opening Championship match against Millwall after they play Bristol Rovers, which might open up more opportunities for the squad to be rotated here.
Despite that, there will also be a focus on trying to pick up a positive result on Tuesday after the Potters have managed to just one win in pre-season.
That result came against Cork City in their first outing of the summer, and that was followed up by a loss against Accrington Stanley.
Most recently Stoke were held to a 1-1 draw against Fleetwood Town, despite Tyrese Campbell giving them the lead in that encounter.
Last season the club managed a midtable finish, but the focus will now be on stepping up and trying to make a push for promotion, which is why a positive result here is something they will want.
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Team News
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After Bristol gave Alex Scott an extended summer break due to his international performances, Barton will no doubt be hoping to get more minutes out of him before the new campaign.
Stefan Bajic is someone that the Gas might feature in this game as well, with the goalkeeper being one of the new summer signings alongside Jordan Rossiter, who will also be an option.
Liam McCarron is one of the newer faces at Stoke City this summer, and he is someone that should get some minutes in this game as he looks to push into the squad.
Campbell and Jacob Brown could prove to be influential in this match as well with their attacking qualities proving to be important for the squad.
We say: Bristol Rovers 1-2 Stoke City
This game promises to be a competitive one between two teams that are looking to start their respective seasons strong in different leagues.
While Bristol Rovers are more than capable of picking up a victory in this game, Stoke City will be considered the favourites due to their squad strength.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
