Bristol Rovers v Leicester City
Pre-season, The Memorial Stadium, Tuesday 14 July July, 7:00pm KO
Bristol Rovers will be looking to make it three straight pre-season wins when they welcome Sky Bet League One team Leicester City to The Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Pirates started their preparations for the 2026/27 season with a 3-0 win over Weston-super-Mare before a closer contest against Salisbury. The Gas twice took the lead in the first half through Fabrizio Cavegn and Ben Purrington, but a brace from Nathan Odokonyero ensured it was all equal at half-time.
However, Rovers dominated the second half and found the winner through Mees Rijks. Tommy Leigh played a perfect pass through to Jack Aitchison, who slotted the ball into Rijks' path to convert from close range.
The Foxes made a winning start to their pre-season schedule, with Stephy Mavididi netting once and Will Alves bagging a brace in a 3-0 triumph over Northampton Town.
This fixture will be played over four 30-minute periods. Read everything you need to know about the match below...
Read everything you need to know about the fixture below...
Tickets...
Tickets are still available for our fixture against Leicester City here!
Opposition...
It has been a difficult couple of years for Leicester. Premier League winners in 2016 and Emirates FA Cup and Community Shield winners in 2021, the Foxes have dropped into Sky Bet League One after back-to-back relegations.
Leicester are in the third tier for just the second time in their 142-year history and will want to return to the Sky Bet Championship at the first attempt under new manager Russell Martin.
The 40-year-old has management experience in the EFL with Milton Keynes Dons, Swansea and Southampton, gaining promotion to the Premier League with the Saints and had a short spell at Scottish Premiership giants Rangers.
Leicester will have some work to do in the transfer window after losing several players whose contracts ended. Ricardo Pereira departed the Foxes after making 220 appearances across all competitions, with Jordan Ayew, Patson Daka, Jamaal Lascelles and Wanya Marçal also leaving at the end of their contract.
Bilal El Khannouss and Jeremy Monga also departed for undisclosed fees to Stuttgart and Manchester City, respectively.
Previous Meetings...
Words by Club Historian, Keith Brookman...
Rovers take on Leicester at The Mem on Tuesday evening, the first time the sides will have met since the 2008/09 season when they did the double over us, winning 2-1 at the King Power Stadium and 1-0 at The Mem.
Those two meetings were the last of the 18 league fixtures between the clubs; Rovers have won only three of those games, while seven have been drawn, and Leicester have won eight, while Rovers have scored 18 goals and Leicester 28.
The first-ever league meetings took place in the old Second Division in 1953/54, and we ran out 3-0 winners at Eastville in the first-ever league meeting between the clubs on November 28 1953. John McIlvenny, Paddy Hale (on his league debut) and Barrie Meyer were on the scoresheet in a game watched by a crowd of 26,250.
Our second victory against them came on Boxing Day 1955 when Alfie Biggs and Meyer were on target in a 2-1 win watched by an Eastville crowd of 21,652. The following day, Rovers travelled to Filbert Street for the return fixture and were beaten 4-2 with 35,000 spectators in attendance. As a matter of interest, Rovers had also played on 24th December and lost 2-1 at Doncaster Rovers, so they played three games in four days over that Christmas period!
In 1956/57 we were beaten 7-2 at Filbert Street and the less said about that the better, though it’s worth noting that for the fifth time in our history at that point, three opponents sored twice in a league game against us, one of them being Arthur Rowley who scored 44 goals in his 42 league games for Leicester, who finished the campaign as Second Division Champions, that season.
The sides didn’t meet in the league again until 1978/79, when both matches were drawn. We also played each other the following season before a gap of ten years until we met at Filbert Street on the opening day of the 1990/91 season, when we were beaten 3-2.
Our third, and only away win, against Leicester was achieved on 28th November 1992 when a Justin Channing goal was enough to give us victory. The return fixture, at Twerton Park, was goalless and we didn’t meet again until 2008/09 in the games covered at the beginning of this article.
We should add that there’s been two FA Cup ties between the sides, the first of which saw Leicester win 5-2 at Eastville in a Third Round tie in January 1937, while Rovers recorded a famous 3-1 win, also at the Third Round stage, at Eastville in January 1986 when goals from Trevor Morgan (2) and Byron Stevenson saw us win the last ever FA Cup tie played at our old home.
Leicester also provided the opposition for Roy Dolling’s testimonial match here at The Mem on 9th May 2003 when Rovers were 2-1 winners.
Opening Times...
Club Store: 10am - 7pm
Ticket Office: 4pm - 7:30pm
Thatchers’ Bar: 5pm
BRFC Legends Bar: 5pm
Home Fanzone: 5pm
Access for disabled supporters: 5:45pm
Bars after Turnstile: 6pm
Home Turnstiles: 6pm
Away Turnstiles: 6pm
Staying safe at The Mem...
Bristol Rovers wants all attendees to enjoy football in a safe and inclusive environment.
Seated tickets come with an allocated seat and row number, and supporters are kindly reminded to sit only in the seat that comes with the ticket.
Furthermore, Bristol Rovers must ensure we operate in full accordance with EFL ground regulations. A particular issue that has been fed back by some fans is persistent standing. Supporters wishing to stand for matches are kindly advised to locate themselves in one of the available terraces.
Additionally, Bristol Rovers would like to remind all supporters that throwing objects onto the pitch or entering the field of play is strictly prohibited. Both offences are criminal acts under UK law. Anyone involved can face arrest, fines and potential banning orders. We ask all fans to support the team responsibly and help us maintain a safe and respectful matchday environment.
Bristol Rovers is committed to removing and eliminating any direct or indirect discrimination of any form or kind within club structures and will, under no circumstances, condone unlawful discriminatory practices. To discover how to report any incidents of discrimination, click here.
Match Officials...
Referee: Sam Allison
Assistant Referee: Jack Clench and Grant Taylor
Fourth Official: Rich Morris
