You can’t knock him for spelling out the situation exactly how he sees it. Joey Barton has made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t like Plymouth Argyle and he intends to pick a side tonight that will be of the required strength to knock them out of the Papa Johns Trophy.
No rotation, no rest, no respite - Rovers want to win this game to edge ever closer to Wembley, plus the prize money always comes in hand; Barton is determined to secure victory in what is an increasingly personal quest for him against various figures of influence at Home Park.
And while the Mem won’t be bouncing as it was in October, due to the ongoing boycott around this competition, from a supporter perspective games against a fellow south west side, and a big one at that, always have a bit extra about them.
Plymouth continue to fly high at the top of League One and have further strengthened their squad this month with five new signings, although have lost loan forward Morgan Whittaker to parent club Swansea City, but Steven Schumacher’s selection will be an interesting one given what lies on the horizon for them.
Argyle travel to Ipswich Town on Saturday for a blockbuster game in League One and as much as he may not want to admit it, the manager will surely have at least half an eye on wanting a strong XI fit and healthy for that contest.
But that’s Plymouth’s problem to worry about, here’s how we see the Gas lining up at the Mem tonight…
Goalkeeper and defence
Up to now, Anssi Jaakkola has been Barton’s Papa John’s goalkeeper but such is the strength of the opposition and the increased importance of this fixture - I mean, on a purely personal level Barton really wants to win - the likelihood is that James Belshaw may start ahead of the Finn.
With Lewis Gibson still nursing a thigh injury, there is no need to reintroduce the Everton loanee into the defence for this game and the back three should be similar to the one that took to the field against Cambridge United with Bobby Thomas and James Connolly near-definite starters.
The interesting decision is who plays at right wing-back and who at right-sided centre-back, between Luca Hoole and James Gibbons. There is an argument that says it doesn’t necessarily matter and the two can interchange over the course of the 90 minutes, that’s part of the strength of their versatility.
But after Hoole has been able to rebuild his confidence down the right flank, this game is one of the few opportunities Barton has to field him at centre-back - the position where he thinks the Welshman will eventually specialise in - to see how he fares against a high-quality attack.
Alfie Kilgour is unavailable due to suspension after being harshly sent off in the last round.
Midfield
It’s an area of the field where Barton could, and certainly has done up to now, rotate as Luke McCormick has earned significant minutes in this competition but the desire to progress means Sam Finley and Paul Coutts will likely maintain their partnership at the base of midfield.
Jordan Rossiter is still a few weeks away from recovering from a knee injury, and unless he wants to use Antony Evans in a deeper role, or start Glenn Whelan, that pairing is his go-to option at present.
There is a compelling argument that says, with both having experienced injury absences prior to Christmas and Rossiter not quite ready, it is a risk to start both just three days after the Cambridge game, hence why McCormick makes sense, but this is clearly a tie that Barton is taking very seriously.
We’ve mentioned above about Gibbons/Hoole on the right - Harry Anderson would normally be a consideration but has a groin injury - so the only other selection call is on the left where it’s Scott Sinclair - who’s increasingly carving out a role on that particular flank - or Gordon.
You can make an argument for continuing Sinclair out there but the 33-year-old has tended to drop out of the XI in this competition and with Saturday’s league encounter at Accrington Stanley, that may well happen again, offering Gordon a return into the team.
Attack
We’ve not mentioned Evans yet and that’s because he could be the one “big name” to be surprisingly missing from the starting XI as Barton references the league meeting at the Mem in October.
Rovers battered Argyle after the break with a front three of Aaron Collins, Ryan Loft and Josh Coburn and that could well be the template for the manager tonight; also increasingly keeping faith with his selection at the Abbey Stadium last weekend.
With the physical presences of Coburn and Loft occupying Plymouth’s centre-backs, Collins is afforded a freer role, taking up spaces on the fringes, drawing in defenders and creating space for those in front of him.
John Marquis and Harvey Saunders will also be pushing for inclusion, having made significant impact in this competition, but their respective roles are likely to be from the bench in the second half when the game could be stretched or Rovers are in need of a goal and something different.
Bristol Rovers (3-4-3, probable): Belshaw; Hoole, Thomas, Connolly; Gibbons, Finley, Coutts, Gordon; Collins; Loft, Coburn
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