We begin our Papa Johns Trophy campaign against Plymouth Argyle this evening!

Rovers head to Devon this evening as we prepare to kick off our Papa Johns Trophy campaign against fellow League One side Plymouth Argyle.

Manager's Preview

Rovers manager Joey Barton admits he’d rather not be playing in the Papa John’s Trophy tonight as he places the majority of his focus on the league campaign,

“I’ll level with you, I wish we weren’t playing in it. Last year we used it as a chance to have a look at things while we were evolving our team, this year if they phoned up and said it’d be cancelled I wouldn’t be disappointed.

But again, it is an opportunity for some of our younger players and some players who need minutes or are striving for match fitness. We’ll get the lads in, we’ll see where we are and we’ll pick a team."

Opposition View

Former Rovers player Mark Hughes is the assistant manager of Plymouth Argyle. Mark played for Rovers during the 2021/22 season but was limited to only six appearances for the Gas as a result of an Achilles injury in September 2021. Mark would later retire from professional football off the back of this injury and would take up a coaching role with Argyle in January 2022. 

Hughes spoke to pafc.co.uk ahead of this evening's clash in Devon,

"They do the basics really well. That’s what Joey has built his foundations on, in terms of getting the basics done. He likes his defenders to defend, the midfield to get up to people. They will be competitive and aggressive. It will be a tough game, they had a really good season last season.

They have lost a few players who did well for them on loan, and they have started off with a couple of bad injuries. I don’t know in terms of the team how he will see it, but I know he is as a person, he will be out to win the game."

Last Time Out

Ref Watch

Carl Brook is the match official for this evening's game against Plymouth Argyle. Referee Brook last officiated a match involving Rovers in our 2-0 victory over Hartlepool in January. In that game, Brook gave Hartlepool defender Jamie Sterry his marching orders after denying Rovers a clear goalscoring opportunity. So far this season, Brook has taken charge of six games across League One, League Two and the League Cup and hands out on average 3.17 yellow cards every 90 minutes.

Betting Preview

EFL sponsors Sky Bet have priced Rovers at 7/2 for the win on Tuesday evening. Rovers can also be backed at 25/1 to win the game 2-0. On the goalscorer markets, Jerry Lawrence is priced at 25/1 to open the scoring, whilst Ryan Loft can be backed at 10/3 to score at any time throughout the clash.

Odds correct at the time of writing. To bet with Sky Bet please click HERE. Please bet responsibly.

How to Watch

Tonight's game against Plymouth Argyle is live on iFollow!

Match passes for the game cost £10 - with the majority of the revenue generated coming back to the football club. 

Our highest iFollow audience for a Tuesday night fixture (excluding games played behind closed doors) stands at 1,878, which was achieved for our away trip against Leyton Orient last season. 

To purchase a match pass - please click HERE.