by The Rovers Review

After drawing the previous two games, Rovers look to get back to winning ways against 3rd place, Carlisle United.

James Coppinger is expected return to the starting 11, following his absence last Friday after picking up a knock in training. It's believed he was rested over the weekend so that he could feature against Carlisle and Luton in our next two games.

Defender Mathieu Baudry is a doubt after also picking up a knock during training, but information regarding his injury seems to be bleak. Joe Wright could keep his place in defense after impressing v Newport, or Craig Alcock could fill in at centre back and Matty Blair slide back into right back, allowing Coppinger back into midfield.

Striker Liam Mandeville his halfway through his recovery so won't feature against Carlisle, which is lucky for Andy Williams, because this gives him more time to try and get back to his scoring ways, with Williams not scoring so far this year.

Head-to-heads
Carlisle have the fourth best home record in the league picking up 29 points from 15 game at home. However, they have failed to win in their last four games at home. Doncaster on the other hand, are the third best away team in the league picking up 26 points away from home from 15 games; only Plymouth and Exeter have a better record.

At home Carlisle have scored 28 goals, whereas Rovers have scored 29 on the road - so you could think that there may be a few goals in this match!

Players to watch
Midfielder, Jason Kennedy, is Carlisle's player to watch with him scoring 11 goals in total for the Cumbrians and 10 of them have come in the league. He's closely followed by striker, Jabo Ibehre, who has score 7 league goals for Carlisle this season.

Previous encounters
Last time we met was back in September 2016 at the beginning of the season where we drew 2-2, and so far I believe that they have been one of the best teams I've seen come to the Keepmoat this season.The two goals in that game came from Tommy Rowe and John Marquis.

Last time we visited their place, we won 3-1 back in league one in 2012, with goals from Rob Jones, David Cotterill and Tommy Spurr.

Overall, Rovers have won 23 games, drawn 17 and lost 23 against Carlisle since 1927, in all competitions.

Predicted lineup v Carlisle United
Lawlor; Alcock, Wright, Butler, Mason; Houghton, Blair, Grant, Rowe; Marquis and Williams.

by The Rovers Review

After winning all five games of 2017 so far, Rovers head into February looking to continue the superb run.

Fresh injury news coming in from Darren Ferguson is that youngster, Will Longbottom, has taken a 'knock' and as a result will be doubtful for this weekends match.

Ferguson has also confirmed that  new striker, Alfie May, wouldn't feature either after picking up an injury too. So, as it stands we're a bit light on attackers on the bench.

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair has began to do basic warm-up training and Gary McSheffrey isn't too far off, but both players should be training by the end of the month.

After not losing a game at home this season, and also being 7 points clear at the top of the table , Ferguson is adamant that the players will not get complacent and that they still have a lot more potential within the team to do better.

In addition, Ferguson said that Cedric Evina now needs to compete to get his place back in the side. This comes after Evina failed to move out of the club, during the January transfer window.

Head-to-heads
Rovers have the best home form the league, as they remain undefeated at the Keepmoat since the start of the season and have collected a total of 36 points from 14 home games, while Morecambe collected 18 points from 12 games on the road.

Morecambe have one of the leakiest defences in the league, as they have conceded 43 goals in 25 matches, whereas Rovers have conceded just 34 from 28 matches.

Players to watch
Striker, Jack Dunn is Morecambe's player to watch, as he has scored 6 goals for the Shrimps this season, however only 2 have come in the league.

Midfielder, Kevin Ellison is their joint-second topscorer along with Paul Mullin scoring 5 goals this season for Morecambe.

Previous encounters
Last time out was in September 2016, where James Coppinger celebrated his 500th appearances for the club, as Rovers triumphed 4-1 with goals from: Andy Butler, John Marquis, Matty Blair and James Coppinger himself.

Predicted lineup v Morecambe
Lawlor; Blair, Baudry, Butler, Mason; Houghton, Grant, Rowe, Coppinger; Marquis and Williams.

by The Rovers Review

After winning 3-1 in their last three games, Rovers look far down south to take on Yeovil for the final time this season.

Liam Mandeville is back to fitness and will come into contention for the starting 11, but will find it hard to replace Andy Williams and John Marquis. Matty Blair is said to be okay, after coming off with a 'knock' against Crewe during the 3-1 win, last Saturday.

Ferguson is looking to ship out four players, such as: Cedric Evina, Mitchell Lund, Reece Fielding and Louis Jones, all on loan. He has said that he'd like to see Evina and Lund especially leave on loan for more game time.

At the press conference on Thursday Ferguson alluded to the fact that it's not because of Cedric Evina's ability why he's not featuring, but simply that there is already depth there with Mason doing a good job at left back and Tommy Rowe being able to fit into left wing back if needed, as well Aaron Taylor-Sinclair, who should be returning from injury soon.

Head-to-heads

Out of the last 8 league games, Rovers have the second best form record in the league behind Exeter City, collecting 19 points. Yeovil aren't in the best form, having earned just 7 points from the last 8 games.

Yeovil have a better defensive record than Rovers; they've conceded just 31 goals in 26 matches, whereas Rovers have conceded 34 in 27 matches.

Player to watch

Striker Francois Zoko is Yeovil's player to watch, as he is their top scorer netting 7 goals for far this season for the Glovers.

Previous encounters

Last time out at the Keepmoat Rovers won 4-1 with a hat trick from Andy Williams and a goal from James Coppinger back in August. Last time we visited Huish Park was during one of our seasons in league one in August 2014, where we won 3-0 with goals from Curtis Main, Harry Forrester and Theo Robinson.

Overall, Rovers have won 5, drawn 2 and lost 8 against Yeovil since 2003.

Predicted lineup v Yeovil Town

Lawlor; Blair, Butler, Baudry, Mason; Houghton, Grant, Rowe, Coppinger; Marquis and Williams.

by The Rovers Review

Rovers face Crewe Alexandra at the Keepmoat in a hope to keep their undefeated start 2017.

Liam Mandeville has now returned from injury, and will come back into contention. He'll be pressuring Andy Williams, who hasn't scored in the league since returning from injury himself.

Mitchell Lund is another youngster, who has recovered from injury, but with Matty Blair and Craig Alcock battling over the right-back position you can see that it's going to be hard for Lund to get a shout. Ferguson has even commented that he's looking to send Lund out on a one-month loan during this window.

Left-back Tyler Garratt won't be featuring in the first team for the remainder of the season after extending his loan with Eastleigh. This gives Niall Mason a chance to make the left-back position his own, although he needs to make up for his mistakes in previous matches, such as being responsible for Barnet's goal just the other weekend.

Head-to-head
Rovers remain unbeaten at home this season, while Crewe are poor away from home, picking up a total of 14 points from a possible 39. This match will see David Artell take charge of his second game for Crewe after losing his first.

Rovers manager Darren Ferguson will be taking charge of his 70th game v Crewe and will be looking to make it 30 out of 70 wins in charge.

Player to watch
Loanee Alex Kiwomya is the player to watch for Crewe. He is also Jordan Houghton's team mate from Chelsea and causes a threat from Crewe's midfield. Crewe striker, Ryan Lowe is their top goalscorer with 9 goals scored so far this season.

Previous encounters
The last encounter with crewe was in September 2016, where we lost 2-1 with goals from Ryan Lowe and James Jones and Tommy Rowe making the defeat less embarrassing, scoring from the penalty spot. Last time Crewe came to the Keepmoat it was the dramatic late 3-2 win before Christmas in 2015. Goals from Conor Grant, Andy Williams and Cameron Stewart earned Rovers three points that day back in league one.

Predicted lineup v Crewe Alexandra
Lawlor; Blair, Butler, Baudry, Mason; Houghton, Grant, Rowe, Coppinger; Marquis and Williams.

by The Rovers Review

After completing the double over Portsmouth last week, Rovers look to do the double over Barnet this week.

Goalkeeper, Marko Marosi, has been ruled out for 3 months after picking up an ankle injury v Portsmouth last week, which was similar to the one Craig Alcock sustained at the beginning of the season. New signing Ian Lawlor will be available for selection, but personally I'd like to see Etheridge given a chance to redeem himself between the sticks.

Cedric Evina is believed to be remaining at the club after weeks of discontent. It's reported that Evina had the chance to go on loan to another league two club, but he turned it down after talking to that manager. Evina could return to the squad, and will put pressure on Aston Villa loanee, Niall Mason, who was considered at the 'weak link' against Portsmouth.

In-form youngster, Liam Mandeville is 'touch and go' for the game after missing the previous two games due to picking up a 'knock', personally I wouldn't risk him.

Head-to-head
At home, Barnet have been picking up 1.42 points per game, but Rovers just have the edge on them, because we have earned 1.58 points per game on the road.

Rovers sit 4 points clear at top of league two, where as Barnet occupy the last spot in the play-offs, in 7th place.

Player to watch
John Akinde is Barnet's top goal scorer, with 18 goals so far this season; all of which came in the league. He played a big part in the reverse fixture, as Barnet threw long throw-ins into the box where Akinde then pounced and threatened Rovers goal several times, but never managed to score.

Previous encounters
We last played Barnet at the Keepmoat in October last year, where it finished 3-2 to the Rovers with goals from: Coppinger, Blair and a late winner from Williams, before he consequently picked up his injury.

Last time Rovers travelled to Barnet in the league, was in 1997, where we drew 1-1.

Overall, Rovers have won 4, drawn 5 and lost 4 against Barnet in the league since 1991.

Predicted lineup v Barnet
Etheridge; Blair, Butler, Baudry, Mason; Houghton, Grant, Rowe, Coppinger; Marquis and Williams.