The stats

o Shrewsbury have only won one of their last five home Football League meetings with Doncaster (D1 L3), a 2-1 victory in the fourth tier on the opening day of the 1997-98 season.

o Doncaster are winless in their last four league games against Shrewsbury (D2 L2); they had won each of their last four Football League meetings with the Shrews prior to this.

o Shrewsbury are winless in their last six home games in all competitions (D4 L2), their longest such streak since October 2016 (seven matches).

o Doncaster are unbeaten in five league games (W2 D3) since a 2-3 loss at Wycombe Wanderers in January, although they are yet to win away from home in the League One in 2019 (P3 W0 D2 L1).

o Mallik Wilks has scored in back-to-back league appearances for Doncaster (two goals) for the first time since his first two such games for the club at the start of the season; he has never scored in three in a row in the EFL.

League One form table via Footystats

Our view

Grant McCann’s in form promotion chasing Rovers make the trip to Shropshire to face Sam Ricketts relegation-threatened Shrews in this rearranged clash which has ramifications at both ends of the table.

Nineteenth place Shrewsbury lifted themselves out of the bottom four with a fine and very welcome first win in ten games on Saturday. They came from a goal down to claim a 2-1 victory over ten-man, playoff-chasing, Peterborough at London Road. Home form is a worry for the Shrews, however, who are without a win in five since their victory over Coventry on the 22 December. Salop have shown, on occasions, that they can raise their game for the better opposition with their win over Barnsley and their superb performances in their two games in the FA Cup against Premier League Wolves.

Rovers arrive in a rich vein of form, unbeaten in five League games, playing well and looking a shoe-in for at least a playoff place but I’m sure McCann won’t have given up hope of gaining a place in the Championship automatically although the thirteen point gap to second place Barnsley looks insurmountable even with two games in hand. Rovers last game saw them gain a good point in the M180 derby with Scunthorpe in an exciting 1-1 draw which extended the gap over 7th placed Posh to two points with two games in hand, this game being one of them.

The teams played out a goalless draw at the Keepmoat back in August and I anticipate a similarly tight match here. Rovers have tasted victory in their last two visits to the New Meadow and haven’t lost at Shrewsbury since August 1997 so I think Rovers will win this game, narrowly.

PREDICTION AWAY WIN

words Ian Bradley, D3D4 roving reporter and predictions guru