Fleetwood Town vs Bristol Rovers Predictions

• No team in League 1 this term has conceded less shots on target at home than Fleetwood.
• Bristol Rovers are the third worst League 1 team when it comes shots on target for away from home.

Fleetwood in the hunt

After their dramatic win over Rochdale on Boxing Day, which came about thanks to an 89^th minute goal from Wes Burns, Fleetwood are right in the hunt for a place in the top six ahead of the new year. Joey Barton’s men, who’ve lost just one of their last five, are just a point outside of the top six. This home match against the side who sit just a point above them is the perfect opportunity for The Cod Army to break into the play-off places.

Playing at home has certainly agreed with Fleetwood this season, as they’ve got the joint fourth-best record in the division. They’ve won seven, drawn two and lost just one of their ten games at Highbury, scoring 17 and conceding eight goals in the process. Only two teams have conceded less home goals than The Trawlermen, who’ve conceded just twice in their last 270+ minutes of home football.

Rovers on the slide

Bristol Rovers are currently in the top six, but instead of strengthening their position on Boxing Day, they lost, which means that they’re no hanging on by a thread.

Despite what the club would’ve hoped, the departure of Graham Coughlan has had a negative impact. Rovers are without a League 1 win since Coughlan left. They’ve taken just one point from a possible six, while their first game under new boss Ben Garner, who became a manager for the first time when taking the job, didn’t go to plan. Garner is a coach known for playing possession football with youth teams, so it’s reasonable to assume that in time Rovers will become a more ball-playing outfit, though positive changes may not occur overnight, especially if their Boxing Day game is anything to go by.

Overall this term, despite some encouraging results, some of which have come as a result of good fortune, Rovers have been a bit disappointing going forward on their travels. They’ve scored 12 goals but rank as one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to both shots and shots on target for away from home.

Lack of goals

Fleetwood have often been involved in high-scoring games, but they’re also no strangers to low-scorers at home with three of their last five at Highbury seeing less than three goals go in. More importantly, when we look at some of the underlying number, ‘Both Teams to Score – NO’ starts to appeal. Both Fleetwood and Bristol Rovers rank in the bottom eight when it comes to touches in the opposition box. Bristol Rovers are the third worst in terms of shots on target for away from home. At home, Fleetwood are the best League 1 team in terms of shots on target against.