How Bristol Rovers can assure themselves of a League Two play-off spot this weekend

Bristol Rovers can confirm themselves of a League Two play-off spot at least this weekend with a win should results go in their favour.

Joey Barton’s side make their final away trip of the regular season as they travel to Spotland (kick-off 15:00 pm) to face Rochdale, who are 18th in the current standings.

At one point of the season the Gas didn’t look like they would be in the mix given their slow start in the first part of the season.

But having been the best performing side in the division since the start of the New Year, they can now extend their season.

Rovers are unbeaten in their last five, winning three matches and drawing two, which have come against title chasing Forest Green and their promotion rivals Tranmere Rovers.

But what could be regarded as a fairly respectable point against perhaps the champions elect, Barton stated the need to get enough points on the board to qualify for the play-offs.

“It is another clean sheet and another point picked up because we’re still not guaranteed to be in the play-offs yet, we need more points,” he said.

“Yeah, we want to get automatics and we’re looking at other team’s results, but we must be mindful of how tight the division is and not slipping out and missing out on a chance to further extend a season and possibly a chance to go up via the play-offs.”

And whilst Saturday’s fixture may seem favourable given their league position, it isn’t a foregone conclusion that Rovers will win.

Rochdale have had a mixed bag, losing two of their last five whilst also winning two and drawing against Swindon Town, but they possess a good record at home and have won three of their last four home games.

How Bristol Rovers can assure themselves of a play-off spot this weekend

If Joey Barton’s men come away from Rochdale with a win and Swindon Town drop points to Barrow then they would be guaranteed a play-off spot.

A draw would be enough to finish ahead of Swindon if Ben Garner’s side suffer a shock defeat at the County Ground to Phil Brown’s Bluebirds.

There is also Sutton United in seventh place who are at home to Bradford City this weekend. Should they suffer a defeat to Mark Hughes’ men and Rovers win then they would be unable to catch them.

But winning is a must if they want to stop Gary Bowyer’s Salford City from having any chance. The Greater Manchester club are also in the mix but they would need to win their remaining two games against Mansfield Town and Stevenage, whilst hoping Rovers lose both of theirs to qualify.

As it stands, who would Bristol Rovers be playing and when?

Right now, Bristol Rovers are in sixth which would mean they would be playing the first leg of their League Two play-off at home at the Memorial Stadium, against fifth placed Mansfield Town on Sunday, 15th May at 12.00.

The second leg would then be played at the One Call Stadium on Thursday, 19th May at 19.45.

What about the automatic promotion picture?

For weeks, all eyes have been on the automatic promotion spots and that will remain the case until it is mathematically impossible.

But on Tuesday, Mansfield Town entered the picture as they won their game in hand to overtake Rovers into fifth by a point.

Mansfield are in action on Bank Holiday Monday so there will be somewhat of a wait, so if Rovers do win they will overtake them, but will then wait on their result.

Saturday’s match between Exeter City and Northampton has something riding on it too as second hosts third.

The Grecians secured the second automatic promotion spot on Tuesday after a win against Barrow but now have title ambitions. They are level on points with Forest Green and could now be motivated to finish the season as strong as possible.

That’s good news for Rovers as if they take points off of Northampton and Rovers win then they could find themselves in the top three come tea time on Saturday.

That is because Port Vale, who are a point behind Northampton in fourth, like Mansfield don’t play until Monday. The Valiants are up against Newport County, who on Tuesday had their play-off hopes dashed.

Ultimately, Rovers have to get maximum points from their last two games and only then will they know whether it’s enough or not with their fate out of their own hands.