ENGLAND: EFL Trophy
Date: 13-10-21
Time: 19:00 PM
Venue: Memorial Stadium (Bristol)
Bristol Rovers and Chelsea Under-21s square off on Tuesday night knowing that victory could make the difference between progression and elimination in the EFL Trophy. Both clubs possess a game in hand on the other teams in Group E, providing them each with an opportunity to book their place in the next round..
There have been times over the past seven-and-a-half months when it has seemed inevitable that Joey Barton would be removed from his position as Bristol Rovers manager. However, despite losing 20 of his 31 games in charge, Barton’s side have won four of their last seven outings to buy him some time in the dugout. Collecting nine points from a possible 18 has moved Rovers into 16th position in the League Two standings, just four adrift of the playoff places.
Their most notable victory of the season came against Carlisle United last weekend, Rovers eventually prevailing by a 3-0 scoreline at the Memorial Stadium. Rovers have also made a winning start in this competition in seeing off Cheltenham Town, a result which has given the fourth-tier club control of this group.
On the flip side, Chelsea Under-21s sit just a point adrift of their hosts after edging out Exeter City in a penalty shootout. Andy Myers’ men overcame the disappointment of conceding a last-minute equaliser to claim a potentially-crucial extra point at St James’ Park. That result in August has proven to be a rare positive during the early weeks of the campaign, Chelsea U21s since losing four of their five matches in Premier League 2 Division One
Recent Stats:
- Bristol Rovers’s form in last 5 matches: WLWLL.
- Chelsea U21’s form in last 5 matches: DLDLL
PREDICTION: BTTS
