Bristol Rovers' League One rivals get huge boost ahead of upcoming Memorial Stadium clash

Bristol Rovers find themselves in the drop zone along with Shrewsbury Town, Cambridge United and Crawley Town. They were beaten 1-0 at home by Stevenage on Easter Monday in what was a damaging result. The Gas weren’t able to build on their 1-1 draw away at promotion chasing Wrexham on Good Friday and slumped to a poor loss.

Inigo Calderon’s side have two more games left to play and their fate is out of their hands. Burton Albion are above them outside the bottom four on goal difference and they have a game in hand. Next up for the Pirates is another clash at the Memorial Ground against Reading.

Reading receive boost ahead of Bristol Rovers trip

Reading have agreed terms with a buyer and have been granted an extension to their deadline by the EFL, as per a report by BBC Sport. There may well be light at the end of the tunnel for the Royals after a tough past few years under the controversial ownership of Dai Yongge. The Berkshire club have now been given 13 days to seal a deal.

The EFL have released a statement reading: "Earlier today, the EFL board granted a further extension until Monday 5 May for Mr Dai Yongge to divest his interests in Reading FC. Since our last update on 3 April, further progress has been made in respect of the proposed sale of the club. As a result, the board deemed it appropriate to agree to the club's request to allow more time for matters to be concluded in accordance with EFL regulations."

Despite all their off-field issues, Reading have been impressive on the pitch in this campaign. They lost Ruben Selles to Hull City last December but Noel Hunt has carried on the Spaniard’s work. The Royals remain in with a shout of getting into the play-offs this year against the odds and are battling it out with Leyton Orient and Bolton Wanderers for 6th place.

Bristol Rovers latest ahead of Reading clash

Reading will be in confident mood ahead of their trip to Bristol Rovers. The Gas will need to be at their best against the Royals to get something from the match. They will also need Burton to drop some points if they are to avoid dropping into League Two.

The Pirates’ situation is getting desperate now and they need to turn their fortunes around. Slipping into the fourth tier will have big financial implications. Calderon, who spent a large chunk of his playing days at Brighton and Hove Albion, was picked as their head coach after Matt Taylor was dismissed earlier this term.

He has struggled to make an impact though. Speaking after their defeat to Stevenage, he said: “It was not the performance we needed. It’s as simple as that. I don’t think it was good enough, especially in the first half. It was not the level we have to be on a day like today. It was not good enough. The first half especially, I would say. In the second half, you have to change the game, and maybe it’s a bit more chaotic, and the nerves come. It’s not the first game it’s happened. They scored the first one too early in the game, and then we panicked because of the situation we were in.”