Rovers take on Crewe Alexandra at the Keepmoat Stadium this weekend looking to make it three straight victories in Sky Bet League One.
Darren Moore’s side backed up last weekend’s 1-0 win at Portsmouth with a 4-1 hammering of Ipswich Town on Tuesday night.
Crewe’s form so far
After promotion back to the third tier last season, Crewe had something of a slow start to the new campaign with back-to-back defeats at the hands of Charlton Athletic and Hull City.
They picked up their first win of the season at the end of September, beating MK Dons 2-0 at Gresty Road. The railwaymen then beat Wigan Athletic 3-0, before earning a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Blackpool. Their last outing saw them narrowly beaten at Sunderland on Tuesday.
The man in charge
Former Crewe defender David Artell was named as the club’s new manager replacing Steve Davis in January 2017.
The 39-year-old had a tough first couple of seasons at Gresty Road, before guiding the club to promotion last season. Overall, Artell has taken charge of 180 Crewe games so far, winning 72, drawing 32 and losing 76, giving him an overall win percentage of 40%.
Ones to watch
Daniel Powell
The 29-year-old joined Crewe in the summer of 2019 after turning down a new deal with Northampton Town. Prior to that, Powell had spent nine seasons with MK Dons, where he came through the youth system.
The winger has more than 50 EFL goals under his belt, and played a key role in the club’s promotion last season.
Charlie Kirk
Still only 22, Kirk is a product of the Crewe academy and made his first-team debut for the club back in 2016.
After being handed the No.10 shirt, Kirk was influential in helping the club win promotion to Sky Bet League One last season, and supplied more assists than anyone else in the division.
Offrande Zanzala
Zanzala joined the club in the summer after leaving fellow Sky Bet League One side Accrington Stanley. Born in Congo, Zanzala joined Derby County as a youngster, and had loan spells with Stevenage, Chester and Stanley before a permanent move to the Wham Stadium came about.
He scored eight times for John Coleman’s side last season before his move to Gresty Road.
Last time out
Goals from Conor Grant, John Marquis and Tommy Rowe sealed a 3-1 victory at the Keepmoat Stadium back in January 2017. James Jones pulled a goal back for Crewe.
More ahead of this match
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