Saturday 19th November 2016 (3pm), Sky Be League Two, Keepmoat Stadium.
Rovers will hope that Saturday’s visitors Hartlepool don’t carry too much confidence from their very first home win of season against Cheltenham last Saturday.
The hosts themselves, though, are back to winning ways – following last week’s comeback victory away at Exeter City - and can jump up to second place in the League Two table if results go their way.
It is only four seasons since the sides faced each other; back in what was a successful 12/13 campaign for Rovers. A hotly contested 1-1 draw at Victoria Park saw then-skipper Rob Jones steal a last gasp point for Dean Saunders’ men after Neil Austin’s spot kick.
However the return was by a more straightforward affair.
Canadian forward Iain Hume got eventual title winners Rovers off the mark just after the half hour mark before goals from James Coppinger and now Pools frontman Billy Paynter. That loss for the self-proclaimed ‘Monkey Hangers’ was one of the 23 inflicted upon them that season and saw them relegated to the fourth tier, in which they remain.
Historically, Hartlepool haven’t fared so well in Doncaster and have won on just one of their last ten outings.
TEAM NEWS : Frazer Richardson will be missing through injury but Andy Butler should be fit to play. Long term absentees Luke McCullough, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair and Gary McSheffrey remain sidelined, as does Andy Williams.
LAST TIME:
Sat 2nd March 2013
DRFC - 3 (Hume, 35; Coppinger, 54; Paynter, 81)
HUFC – 0
League One
Keepmoat Stadium
Att: 7457
DRFC - G Woods, J McCombe, P Quinn, T Spurr, J Husband, R Jones, J Lundstram, J Coppinger, D Cotterill (K Bennett, 85), D Syers, I Hume (B Paynter, 63)
HUFC - S Flinders, J Baldwin, N Austin, E Horwood, S Collins, P Hartley, A Monkhouse, R Humphreys, J Franks (L James, 59), J Poole (S Howard, 59), C Wyke
HEAD TO HEAD: Results (in Doncaster): Rovers – 14, Draws – 13, HUFC – 9.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS? DRFC 8/11, Draw 13/5, HUFC 15/4
ROVERS PLAYER: Listen to live coverage from 14:45 with Tom Biltcliffe and Paul Goodwin.
ROVERS WALL: Follow all the action as it happens from 14:00