One of Wycombe’s six wins under the Matt Bloomfield tenure so far was the 2-0 away triumph against Bristol Rovers back in March.

Goals from Brandon Hanlan and Chem Campbell secured an impressive victory for the Chairboys against the Gas, but a lot has happened since then.

Both Wanderers and Rovers have made a host of signings whilst letting others leave their respective squads.  

So what can we expect from the final league out this month?

Lowdown on Wanderers

From a glass-half-empty perspective, it’s been an inconsistent start to the season with two defeats, two wins and won draw, albeit one of those victories came in the League Cup.

From a glass-half-full perspective, Wycombe are unbeaten in the last two games in which they have picked up four points from six and are only four points off the play-off places in this very early stage of the season.

A trip to the Memorial comes off the back of a 0-0 draw against Burton Albion, in which if it wasn’t for the heroics of Max Crocombe in the Brewers goal, the Chairboys would have won comfortably.

Prior to that, an entertaining 3-2 win over newly-promoted Leyton Orient gave the club their first league victory since April in what was a much-needed three points following back-to-back 3-0 defeats against Exeter City and Lincoln City respectively.

Lowdown on Rovers

The Pirates have also had a bit of a shaky start to the season but currently sit three places and one point above Wycombe in the League One table.

Joey Barton’s team started the campaign with a commendable 1-1 draw versus promotion favourites Portsmouth, but lost 2-0 at Ipswich Town in the League Cup.

A 1-1 draw with Barnsley, a 2-1 away win at Charlton Athletic before a 2-0 defeat at Cambridge United have been the story of the season for the Gas so far.

It’s also worth noting that this is only Bristol Rovers’ second match at home this season, and the last time they were defeated at the Memorial Stadium in a competitive capacity was back in April.

Head-2-Head

Games: 43

Wycombe wins: 19

Draws: Five

Bristol wins: 19  

Last five meetings

2022/23: Bristol Rovers 0-2 Wycombe Wanderers

2022/23: Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Bristol Rovers

2019/20: Wycombe Wanderers 3-1 Bristol Rovers

2019/20: Bristol Rovers 0-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2018/19: Bristol Rovers 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers

Who’s in charge?

The referee for today’s fixture is Lee Swabey.

He has taken charge of four matches so far this season and has shown an incredible 22 yellow cards in that time.

Additionally, Wanderers have lost the last FOUR games he has officiated:

  • 2022/23: Burton Albion 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers
  • 2022/23: Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Shrewsbury Town
  • 2021/22: Wycombe Wanderers 1-4 Ipswich Town
  • 2019/20: Oxford United 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers

The last time Wanderers won with Swabey in charge was the 1-0 victory against Fleetwood Town in May 2019.

Also, he was the referee to show Adebayo Akinfenwa a red card in his 20-year professional career.

The assistants for the match are David Harrison and Ravel Cheosiaua whilst the fourth official is Daniel Robinson.

Miscellaneous

  • Wycombe have only lost three of their last 10 visits to the Memorial Stadium, winning six and drawing one
  • They are also unbeaten in their last six against the Pirates in all competitions and seven in the league
  • The last time Rovers beat Wanderers was in September 2017 when they smashed the Chairboys 5-1 at Adams Park in the EFL Trophy
  • Wycombe will wear their red third kit for the first time this season, making it the second consecutive visit to the Memorial wearing that colour
  • Joe Jacobson, Luke Leahy and Brandon Hanlan will all return to the West Country with Wycombe as ex-Rovers players
  • Wycombe are still yet to win a competitive match on a Saturday afternoon under the Matt Bloomfield era