Bristol Rovers vs Gillingham Predictions

Having seen his side exit the FA Cup at the hands of non-league opponents last week, Rovers’ manager Darrell Clarke would’ve been looking for his side to react positively at the Valley on Saturday, though a 3-1 defeat was the best that the Pirates could manage. Tuesday’s hosts now find themselves in the relegation zone, so it’s important that they regain the winning thread sooner rather than later.

The current season continues to be one step forward and two back as far as Bristol Rovers are concerned. Darrell Clarke’s men have played with promise in spells, but they’ve been massively inconsistent and seem to have something of an incredibly soft under-belly. Unless they can put together a winning run soon, the man currently in charge, who has held that position since 2014, could find himself looking for a new job.

From a performance point of view, Rovers have been OK this season, though OK won’t get them out of the situation that they’ve got themselves into. They continue to struggle offensively, while as we saw when they gave away three goals and 2.24 expected goals on Saturday, they’re not offering enough resistance at the back, or at least they’re not doing so on a regular basis.

Fortunately, this match against a defensively inept Gillingham side presents Clarke’s men with a gilt-edged opportunity to deliver the goods offensively.

Gillingham boss Steve Lovell could also start to feel the pressure soon, as his side are also failing to produce the goods on a regular basis. Saturday’s loss at home to Luton was a third in a row (in the league).

Unlike the hosts, Gillingham don’t often struggle offensively, but they’re often shocking at the back, especially on their travels. Away from home during the current campaign, Lovell’s men have given up a massive 2.08 expected goals on average, while they’ve shipped a rather unflattering 16 in total.

It’s certainly true that Rovers have struggled to get the ball in the net on a regular basis, though they’ve often had few problems creating chances at home. Combine such creativity with the fact that Gillingham have leaked goals left, right and centre on the travels and the hosts may just have the recipe for some goals on Tuesday evening.

Tuesday’s hosts, for all they were poor at The Valley on Saturday, have recently scored at least twice at home against both AFC Wimbledon and Coventry, while they posted 2.38 expected goals in their most recent home match. Furthermore, if we combine Bristol Rovers’ average of 1.56 expected goals for at home with Gillingham’s average of 2.08 expected goals against on the road, then it becomes quite easy to make a case for ‘Bristol Rovers to Score Over 1.5 Goals’.