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by Adam Stubbings

Picking up from the disappointment of a home defeat to Port Vale won't be easy for Rovers as third place Walsall head to the Keepmoat looking to bounce back from a setback of their own. Despite sitting just four points off the top of League One, the Saddlers suffered a heavy loss away at Championship side Reading in the F.A. Cup, despite knocking out Brentford in the previous round. More concerning for Walsall however was a knee injury suffered by goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, who was stretchered off late on and will surely miss Tuesday's match despite reports that the injury is not as serious as first thought.

Rovers themselves have a goalkeeper dilemma after Thorsten Stuckmann went off injured in the loss to Port Vale, but Marko Marosi ably deputised in his place and might be ready to take the opportunity if presented to him. The decision to put Richard Chaplow into the midfield trio appeared to backfire last time out, though in truth it wasn't a sterling showing from the team overall. Paul Keegan may return to the starting line-up after a rest, whilst Lynden Gooch looks to have done enough to continue his run in the team assisting Andy Williams in attack.

Walsall have won all of the last four meetings between the sides, with successive trips to South Yorkshire yielding three points. For those invested in the fates, both of those wins came in the month of February, and this clash will of course also take place in February after it was rearranged from last Saturday. Our last victory against the Saddlers came on the opening day of the League One title-winning campaign, a 3-0 scoreline at the Banks' Stadium in which David Cotterill scored a 45-yard goal on his debut. The Walsall line-up that day included current Rovers centre half Andy Butler as well as former Rover James Chambers, but our opponents are a very different proposition these days and are hoping to maintain their unlikely promotion push heading into the business end of the season.

The game also sees the return to Doncaster of former manager Sean O'Driscoll, who stakes a claim for the accolade of “Best Ever Manager” at the club having guided us to promotion into the Championship along with victory in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in 2007. Rovers will be hoping it is a miserable return for the club legend, and will look to take full advantage of having four extra days preparation time for this fixture.
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