There are seven new teams joining Rovers in Sky Bet League One for the upcoming 2020/21 season - a few of them are familiar and others less so.
The new teams are: Hull City, Wigan Athletic, Charlton Athletic, Swindon Town, Crewe Alexandra, Plymouth Argyle and Northampton Town.
Hull City (Home: 20/02/21 | Away: 01/12/20)
Hull City find themselves in League One for the first time since 2004/05. Former Rovers boss Grant McCann’s side suffered a bad run of form winning only two league games in 2020 which saw them finish rock bottom of the Sky Bet Championship. Rovers are unbeaten in their last 4 meetings with The Tigers recording two wins in the EFL cup and drawing twice in the Championship back in 2011.
Wigan Athletic (Home: 10/04/21 | Away: 03/10/20)
Wigan Athletic have been relegated to League One following a 12-point deduction at the end of their Championship season. The Latics are currently without a manager since the departure of Paul Cook on August 1. Rovers have faired well against Wigan when meeting them in League One, beating them 3-1 at the Keepmoat Stadium and drawing 0-0 at the DW Stadium.
Charlton Athletic (Home: 02/04/21 | Away: 19/09/20)
Charlton were the third team relegated to League One, after only one season in the Championship, having come up one point short of survival. They are managed by their former midfielder Lee Bowyer.
Charlton were the team Rovers played most frequently during the 2018/19 season. The teams met twice in the league, once in the FA Cup and twice in the Play-Off semi-final which ended with an epic finale at The Valley with Rovers running the Addicks agonisingly close and losing out on penalties.
Swindon Town (Home: 15/12/20 | Away: 16/01/21)
Swindon come into League One after being crowned champions of Sky Bet League Two with the league standings be determined using the points-per-game system. Swindon’s manager Richie Wellens was recently voted into the Hall of Fame and while fans will probably wish him well for the season, they will hope he leaves both matches with Rovers without any points.
Crewe Alexandra (Home: 24/10/20 | Away: 09/03/21)
Crewe were promoted to League One after finished second in league and return to the division for the first time since the 2015/16 season. David Artell is the manager of the club he used to play for, having spent two years playing for The Railwaymen between 2010 and 2012. The last time the two sides met Rovers ran out 3-1 winners at the Keepmoat Stadium, the goals were scored by Conor Grant, John Marquis and Tommy Rowe.
Plymouth Argyle (Home: 06/03/21 | Away: 27/10/20)
Plymouth took the third and final automatic promotion spot in League Two ensuring they bounced straight back to League One after only a single season following their relegation at the end of the 2018/19 season. Plymouth manager Ryan Lowe guided them to promotion in his maiden season with the club having been in charge barely a year. Rovers are unbeaten in their last four games against Plymouth, winning three of them, the last time the two sides met Rovers won 2-0 at the Keepmoat Stadium.
Northampton Town (Home: 13/02/21 | Away: 05/12/20)
Northampton are the fourth team that have been promoted to join Rovers in League One, they were promoted via the play-offs after finishing the season in seventh place. The Cobblers are managed by Keith Curle who has been in charge since 2018. The last time Rovers played Northampton was on Boxing Day in 2017, a fixture which Rovers won 3-0, the goals were scored by Andy Butler, James Coppinger and Niall Mason.
