Bristol Rovers lowdown as Chesterfield finish pre-season at Joey Barton's League One Gas

Let’s take a closer look at how the League One opponents are shaping up ahead of the new season...

How has pre-season gone for the Gas?

They’ve had some encouraging results. They started off by hammering eighth-tier side Melksham Town 9-0 before beating Eastleigh 2-0. They then ended a week-long training camp in Portugal with a narrow 3-2 defeat to SC Braga, who finished third in the Portuguese top-flight last season and are in the Champions League third qualifying round. And on Tuesday night they overcame Championship Swansea City away 2-0. So it looks like the Spireites are in for a big test this weekend so you can see why they have left this one until the end.

Who have Rovers signed?

Brentford duo, goalkeeper Matthew Cox, 20, and defender Tristan Crama, 21, are the latest to arrive this week. Forward Jevani Brown, 28, who scored 14 goals in 32 games for Exeter City last season has also joined and midfielder Luke Thomas, 24, who won promotion with Rovers from League Two in 2022, has returned to the club from Barnsley. Former Middlesbrough defender George Friend, 35, and fellow experienced centre-back James Wilson, 34, previously of Plymouth Argyle, will add some steel to the backline. Barton has also said that another two players could sign before Saturday.

Where did they finish last season and what are they tipped to do this time?

The Gas finished 17th in their first year back in League One. They are tipped to improve on that this term with Sky Bet offering odds of 4/1 for a top six finish, 10/1 for promotion and 33/1 to win the league.

What happened the last time the two teams met?

The last encounter, in March 2017, saw Rovers beat Chesterfield 2-1 in a League One game at the Memorial Ground, the Spireites’ goal that day coming from Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Town did prevail in the two matches previous to that, winning 3-2 in November 2016 and 3-1 in February 2014, both at home.

Have Chesterfield ever won at Bristol Rovers?

According to the record books, the Spireites have never won in the league there. However, they did win 3-2 there in a League Cup game in 1964.