Bristol Rovers fans tomorrow will find out their nine-month calendar as the 2022/23 League One fixtures come out.
There's excitement around the Memorial Stadium as the Gas prepare for their first season back in the third tier after a season away after their relegation. Antony Evans has signed a new contract and they made their first addition earlier this week by signing Jordan Rossiter from Fleetwood Town.
Fans weren’t allowed in the last time Rovers played at this level which added to the frustration of watching Rovers go down without a whimper behind their laptop screens.
Joey Barton, who oversaw that relegation has built a team the supporters can be proud of and now they can look forward to mixing with some big teams like Wayne Rooney’s Derby County, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth.
Fans missed out on trips to grounds like the iconic Fratton Park and Hillsborough, but now they can start planning for trips across the length and breadth of England.
For some of the teams they will play, they haven’t visited their grounds for over a decade, in fact Rovers have not played a league match at Derby’s Pride Park.
Teams like Cambridge United and Morecambe also haven’t come up against Rovers for over five years so now there is an opportunity for fans to have a feel of stadium’s they may not have visited before.
In the 2020/21 season, Rovers went on long winless runs on the road but there’s a hope that things will be different this time.
We’ve taken a look at how the Gas have fared in their last visits of their league rivals with a mixed bag coming up.
1. Accrington Stanley - 1-6 (L) - 02/02/2021
Delayed by half an hour due to snow, Accrington Stanley inflicted a heavy defeat on a managerless Rovers at the time. Sam Nicholson responded to Joe Pritchard’s opener for Stanley but a Colby Bishop brace and a Dion Charles hat-trick gave the home side the win. It ended up being Paul Tisdale’s penultimate game in charge. Photo: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
2. Barnsley - 0-1 (L) - 27/10/2018
A narrow win for the Tykes as Alex Mowatt scores the only goal of the game with a trademark strike from outside of the box. Barnsley were in the play-offs at that point whilst Rovers were hovering above the relegation zone. Photo: Harry Trump/Getty Images
3. Bolton Wanderers - 1-1 (D) - 28/01/2020
Rovers were closing in on a new club record of the longest period without a goal but Jonson Clarke-Harris put an end to that three minutes before the deadline. He put the Gas ahead but a late equaliser from Daryl Murphy meant that the Gas had to go home with just a point. Photo: Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images
4. Burton Albion - 1-0 (L) - 02/03/2021
A manic few minutes saw Luke McCormick sent off for a second bookable offence after kicking the ball away. It proved to be costly as three minutes later Jonny Smith scored the only goal of the match. Photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images