What can Bristol Rovers expect from Peterborough?

There’s one more to come this season at home for Bristol Rovers as they host Peterborough United at Mem on Saturday, a side who still have promotion in sight, either through their slim chance of automatic places remaining or the game already sealed. -offs.

The Posh are not yet out of the race for second place after Portsmouth were confirmed as League One winners in midweek, but Derby County are firmly in the driving seat with a three-point lead over third-placed Bolton Wanderers, and is six points ahead of Peterborough. , although Darren Ferguson’s side boast a game in hand.

Unfortunately, the Rams’ victory at Cambridge United on Saturday will all but seal their return to the Championship, even if Bolton and Posh win, meaning not much is out of the hands of visiting Rovers ahead of their trip to BS7. They also host already-relegated Carlisle United on the final day, which suggests the deed is done.

However, barring a total collapse, Ferguson’s men look set for a top-four finish, meaning they will have the luxury of having the second leg at home, which certainly made the difference last year when they threw in miraculously a 4-0 lead. overall at Sheffield Wednesday.

This season though, a young side have seriously impressed with Peterborough League One top scorers with 84 goals as well as players winning Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards in Harrison Burrows and Ronnie Edwards. Furthermore, the Cambridgeshire outfit were crowned winners of the EFL trophy just under two weeks ago.

It seems impossible to discuss a game between Rovers and Peterborough without mentioning former Gas striker Jonson Clarke-Harris, who was seconds away from a record return to the club on deadline day in the summer, but fell through. The 29-year-old is set to become a free agent this summer after making just 14 league starts this term, although he has managed a decent 13-goal haul in all competitions. However, another move from Rovers this summer looks extremely unlikely, with the Gas turning down the opportunity to sign him in January.

Turning our attention to Peterborough as a team though, what can the Gas expect this weekend as they look to finish at Mem on a high? Bristol Live spoke to Peterborough Telegraph sports editor Alan Swann for details ahead of Saturday’s game.

Where are Peterborough’s minds at the moment in terms of the promotion race? Is there still confidence they can sneak into 2nd or is it play-offs now?

In public, they say they can reach the top two places, but in private they suspect they are preparing for the play-offs. It’s hard to see Derby not getting the three points they probably need to finish second in games against Cambridge and Carlisle, and even if they don’t Posh should win their last three games.

Assuming they have to do it via the play-offs, how much confidence is there now that Peterborough can have a better deal than last year and get promoted?

I suspect last year’s traumatic experience won’t be a factor. Seven of this season’s first-team regulars have been at Hillsborough, but knowing this group, there will be a determination to make amends rather than be daunted by a repeat experience. Such a young group was not expected to do so well this season, so they could see the play-offs as a free kick. They have certainly played well against all their potential opponents in at least one game this season.

How much of a boost was it to the EFL Trophy run and of course winning it?

Winning the trophy at Wembley can’t be a bad thing if they go back there for a play-off final. The downside is the extra games the team have played and the team looked like they were playing a clean sheet at Oxford last weekend and to some extent against Fleetwood at home on Tuesday, a game they could have lost easily.

How do you think Peterborough will approach this game with Rovers seemingly having little to play for?

I would expect there to be a few changes and a few injuries (Ricky-Jade Jones and Kwame Poku) could force the manager’s hand anyway. It’s not a talent-rich team, so making sure the better players are fit for the playoffs could be a priority for the next couple of games. Posh are unlikely to drop fourth (only out-of-form Barnsley can overtake them) so will have the advantage of avoiding Bolton/Derby and playing the second leg at home regardless of Saturday’s result.

Besides POTS Harrison Burrows and Young POTS Ronnie Edwards, who are some of the other players Gas will have to watch out for on Saturday?

If playmaker Ephron Mason-Clark was good enough to earn a £4.25m move to Coventry City. It’s strong, fast and sneaky. Hector Kypriano, who made his senior international debut for Cyprus this season, and Archie Collins have been described as the best midfield pairing in the league by their manager. And of course, your old man Jonson Clarke-Harris could feature after his two-goal burst off the bench on Tuesday.