Rochdale vs Bristol Rovers Predictions

• Eight of Rochdale’s last nine home games have had less than three goals
• There have been fewer than three goals in five of Bristol Rovers’ last seven away fixtures
• Rochdale have suffered only four league defeats at Spotland

Can Rochdale finish the season strongly?

It has been a strange campaign for Rochdale, who are languishing in the bottom half of the table but have remained tough to beat, particularly at Spotland, where they have lost just four times.

Robbie Stockdale’s side have conceded just 19 goals on home soil, a record bettered by only five teams, but they do not score many either, managing just 25 – only one side above them has netted fewer.

Eight of their last nine at Spotland have contained two strikes or less across the 90 minutes, but they are unbeaten in four there, keeping three clean sheets in the process, so this will be no walk in the park for Bristol Rovers.

Rovers still eying the top three

With two games of the season remaining, Bristol Rovers are only a couple of points off an automatic promotion spot, helped by a run of one defeat in ten games.

Joey Barton’s side have shot up the table thanks to a mean defence who have not conceded more than one goal in any of their last 17 fixtures, managing 10 clean sheets in the process.

Only five of those matches have contained three or more goals, but there have been a couple of slip-ups on the road, including a defeat at Carlisle and 1-1 draw with Tranmere.

Both of these teams are strong defensively, so I think there will be fewer than three goals in the match, but given Rochdale have drawn more home games than any other League Two side, I think a stalemate is on the cards. 1-1 is my correct score prediction.