Newport County travel over the river Severn on Saturday (31 Jan) to the Memorial Stadium, where they face Bristol Rovers in a huge League Two encounter.
Here is a look at our opponents and what to expect...
The History
Formed in 1883, Bristol Rovers were originally known as Black Arabs FC, a nod to a local rugby team and its playing colours, and then Eastville Rovers. 1899 saw the team rebrand once more to its current, and more recognisable, name.
The team came first in the fledgling Southern League Division 1 in 1905, and saw one of their players – Jack Lewis – called up to represent Wales that same season.
After the war, the club were placed alongside Newport in the Division 3 South, where they remained until the de-regionalisation of the Football League in 1953.
Relegated in 1962, promoted again in 1974, the club bounced between the fourth and third division throughout the 20th-century.
By the end of the 1980s, Rovers had moved from their historic ground of Eastville, and were sharing with Bath City’s Twerton Park.
1996 was the year that the Memorial Ground, now Memorial Stadium, became the full-time home of The Gas, after Bristol RFC agreed to share the venue.
More ups and downs followed, with the club promoted into the newly-named League One in 2007 via the play-off system, reaching the Quarter-Final of the FA Cup the following season.
By 2012, the club were back in the fourth tier, and an unprecedented relegation to non-league football in 2014 plunged the side into the National League, only for two successive promotions to catapult them back into the third tier by 2016.
This is the club’s first season back at this level since 2022, after finishing 22nd in the 2024-25 League One campaign.
The Form
Bristol Rovers won five out of six league games at one point earlier this season, but things have rapidly descended in that time.
Rovers’ win at Shrewsbury on New Year’s Day was the first since 27 September, in a spell that included ten consecutive defeats.
It has been 18 league games since The Pirates last claimed three points at home, a stretch that has created records for all the wrong reasons.
However, they did win the reverse fixture between the two at Rodney Parade last September, and have only tasted defeat against Newport on home soil twice in recent history, in 2014 and 2021.
The Manager
Now at his tenth club of an illustrious career, Steve Evans has taken the job with the aim of turning around Bristol Rovers’ fortunes.
Beginning with Stamford FC in 1994, Evans made his name with stints at Boston United and Crawley Town, securing promotions from non-league to this division in both cases.
He was also promoted to the Championship with Rotherham in 2014, before embarking on a season with Leeds United in the same division.
The Scot, who was previously a striker in his native country, then went on to manage Mansfield, Peterborough, Gillingham and Stevenage before returning to Rotherham in 2024.
Though he has only one win from his first seven in charge, Evans has turned around the team’s performances, securing a creditable draw away at Crewe before Christmas and conceding just three league goals in 2026 so far.
Evans replaced previous boss Darrell Clarke, who departed the side in the bottom two alongside Newport.
The Captain
Alfie Kilgour joined Bristol Rovers at the age of eight, and his journey led him to carry the captain’s armband for the team.
The Bath-born defender moved to Mansfield Town in 2023, but struggled for regular playing minutes due to an achilles injury, despite the club earning promotion to League One during his time there.
He moved back to the Memorial Stadium in June 2025, joining on a two-year deal, and was appointed captain before the beginning of the season.
Kilgour has played over 100 games across nearly nine years for The Gas, and has been in and out of the squad so far this season.
The Ones to Watch
Swiss striker Fabrizio Cavegn has led the line admirably for Rovers this season, scoring 12 goals in all competitions.
Cavegn, a Swiss under-21 international, joined from FC Vaduz last summer, and has made a name for himself already: scoring a hat-trick to help Rovers win 3-0 at Shrewsbury on New Year’s Day.
Ellis Harrison is a Newport boy himself, but spent seven years with Rovers before returning for a second spell last summer.
A physical presence with an all-round skillset, Harrison was named captain for Rovers’ midweek loss at Milton Keynes, and brings a wealth of experience in the higher divisions with the likes of Portsmouth and Ipswich Town.
In defence, the highly-rated Jack Sparkes is a smooth operator at left-back, and may have something to prove against the opposition – whilst at Exeter City, he sustained a season-ending knee injury against Newport back in December 2019.
