Bristol Rovers breakdown: The Gas player Reds need to look out for and what weaknesses Crawley Town could exploit

We spoke to Jordan Jones from Bristol World, the football reporter for BristolWorld to get the background on the Reds' opponents.

Joey Barton's side are currently six points above John Yems' men in ninth and beat Crawley 1-0 in the reverse fixture in September.

See also Crawley Town v Bristol Rovers press conference: Everything John Yems and George Francomb had to say ahead of Tuesday night's League Two game

So what should Crawley look out for tonight? This is what Jordan had to say.

Key player?

I’d have to go Antony Evans, who won’t be playing at this level come the end of the season, with or without Rovers.

Evans after his release from German second tier side Paderborn, is a player that has a moment of magic in his locker. You only have to see his goal against Barrow last week to see his quality. The 23-year-old has 15 goal contributions this season with eight goals and seven assists, mainly as a central attacking midfielder.

One thing that may hold him back though is he was playing in a deeper role in the last two games to accommodate Newcastle United loanee Elliot Anderson. Against Newport he didn’t make his mark and was subbed after the hour mark.

Strengths?

I’d say Bristol Rovers are a team that love to attack teams and with how they line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and they’ve got players that can cause some damage.

As mentioned, Evans has the ability to win games on his own with goals right from the top draw.

Anderson, nicknamed ‘Billy Elliot’ is a teenager from Newcastle who has the ability to influence games too.

Front-man Aaron Collins, who struggled to get a goal but is now on a good run of form, can also punish you if given the ball outside the box or on the six-yard line.

See also Crawley Town v Bristol Rovers preview: Will Reds have much-needed striker boost ahead of Pirates clash?

Weaknesses?

The performance against Newport was one that was below the high levels that Barton has placed on his side. They struggled to find any rhythm in that match and were simply outwitted.

Against Oldham, they fell behind to a goal in less than a minute and then didn’t recover. Rovers have coped well against the teams around them but teams who perhaps are in a mid of end-of-season limbo are the teams they can’t afford a hiccup against.

It’s also so far not worked out for Ryan Loft, who was brought in from Scunthorpe, but has yet to find a goal in the blue and white quarters. He was brought in to compliment Collins and score goals but hasn’t had his moment.

Team news? Any one notable that is absent from the game that would otherwise be in the team?

There’s no big change to the squad against Newport but there will be some caution on whether centre-back Connor Taylor is involved.

He went down towards the end of the first half and required a lengthy bit of medical treatment before being substituted at the break. Barton said he injured his ankle but didn’t reveal the extent of it given it had only just happened.

Alfie Kilgour, another defender has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery for a second time. Utility man Josh Grant who has mainly played as a wing-back is also not expected to return any time soon.

Leon Clarke, who scored the winner against Crawley has had a torrid time with injury then with a hamstring injury ruling him out from September to February. He’s now got a groin issue but there is a hope it’ll be just a few days rather than weeks.

His namesake Trevor, who plays at left-back could make a return though after being out with injury since mid January.

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