Days after a Boxing Day humbling by Wycombe Wanderers, Stevenage return to League One action keen to dispatch struggling Bristol Rovers in Sunday's gameweek 23 clash at the Lamex Stadium.
Alex Revell's men were powerless to resist the second-placed side's attacking prowess on Thursday but seek a return to winning ways against a club winless in five matches, losing four in that period, and under new management after Inigo Calderon's post-Christmas appointment.
Match preview
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Stevenage went into Christmas undefeated in five League One matches (two wins), only to come unstuck at the hands of Wycombe on December 26.
The Boro had gone four matches unbeaten on home soil before their recent humbling, although they seek a response to that reverse in Hertfordshire.
Having accrued 20 of their 26 points in home games, supporters anticipate another strong showing from their side to end 2024 encouragingly with a seventh victory at the visiting club's expense.
Despite their middling status — the 16th-placed Boro are unlikely to challenge for a top-six berth and are seven points clear of Crawley Town in 21st — the Hertfordshire outfit have somehow stayed motivated, especially on home soil.
Thus, a Stevenage victory is anticipated this weekend, as Bristol Rovers are winless in five league matches, losing four.
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Worryingly for the Pirates, they have fired blanks three times, losing to Blackpool (2-0), Leyton Orient (3-0) and Birmingham (2-0) during the wretched spell that threatens to see them slide into the bottom four heading into 2025, something newly-appointed Calderon hopes to avoid.
With three points separating Calderon's men from Crawley, defeat for the Pirates this weekend and a Crawley win at Exeter could pull the Gas into the dreaded positions at the end of 2024.
Those prospects are conceivable considering Rovers' away record: two wins, one draw and eight losses, with four defeats in their recent five matches on their travels.
Only Stevenage and Rotherham United (six points each), and Shrewsbury Town and Cambridge United (five points each) have accumulated fewer away points than the Pirates this term, highlighting the club's away blues ahead of Sunday.
Despite those problems, Rovers have enjoyed recent visits to Hertfordshire, beating Stevenage 4-0 in February 2022 and 3-2 in the same month earlier this year, and a repeat will be just what the doctor ordered for the visitors hoping to avoid being in the relegation places at the turn of the year.
Team News
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Stevenage have no fresh injury problems going into Sunday's match, though Jake Forster-Caskey will undergo last-minute checks.
Jamie Reid (five) and Daniel Kemp (four) lead for goal contributions for the hosts, making the pair the Boro's leading threats in gameweek 23.
Harvey White has fashioned five big chances this term, more than any player on either side, and the midfield man could be pivotal in unpicking the struggling visitors.
Rovers came through Boxing Day unscathed and have a clean bill of health this weekend.
Promise Omochere has netted in back-to-back games for the Pirates, and the 24-year-old forward could retain his starting role for the away side.
Stevenage possible starting lineup:
Ashby-Hammond; James-Wildin, Thompson, Piergianni, Butler; Phillips, White; Roberts, Kemp, Young; Reid
Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:
Griffiths; Wilson, Taylor, Mola; Senior, Lindsay, Conteh, Thomas; Forde, Omochere, Hutchinson
We say: Stevenage 1-1 Bristol Rovers
Despite a wretched sequence of results in the lead-up to Sunday's visit to Stevenage, Rovers are undefeated in three trips to Hertfordshire, and they could eke out a draw to extend that unbeaten run in a low-scoring draw.
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