Rovers are back on home soil this Easter Bank Holiday Monday as they entertain Paul Hurst’s Grimsby Town in Sky Bet League Two at the Eco-Power Stadium.
Danny Schofield’s side will be looking to round out the Easter games programme with three points to head into the remainder of the season.
The last meeting:
Rovers ran out 3-1 winners on the Lincolnshire coast when the two sides met at Blundell Park in front of a sold-out away end in November 2022.
Leading goal scorer George Miller opened the scoring early on before sandwiching Harrison Biggins’ second-half wonder strike with a second to secure his brace.
Luton Town loanee, John McAtee then scored a consolation with ten minutes to go but Rovers ultimately claimed the three points on the road.
Grimsby’s recent form:
Prior to the Easter weekend, the Mariners were winless in five matches having started that run with a 5-0 demolition at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup Quarter Finals.
Back in league action, Grimsby followed that up with three consecutive draws, one being goalless and the other two ending 1-1 as Bryn Morris scored against Walsall and Harry Clifton against Crawley Town.
Town then lost at play-off contenders Bradford City despite Gavan Holohan and Andrew John Smith putting the visitors ahead at the break.
On Good Friday their winless run continued with a 4-1 defeat at home to resurgent Hartlepool United. Michee Efete had equalised after the break for the Mariners but Hartlepool surged clear.
Key men:
Harry Clifton has had a heavy impact on the goals scored by the Mariners this season with his 13 goal contributions in all competitions.
The 24-year-old midfielder joined the club at U10s level to graduate from the Grimsby Town academy in 2015 and, after a spell on loan at Grantham Town, has eventually pinned down a place in the first team.
Clifton made his debut in the Papa John’s Trophy against Rovers in 2017 and the former Wales U21 international has become a vital player on the front foot.
Another player to score vital goals for the Mariners since his arrival on the east coast is 31-year-old Irishman Gavan Holohan.
After spells in the League of Ireland, and time with Hartlepool United, the midfield signed a two-year deal for Grimsby Town in March 2022.
He made an instant impact, scoring in stoppage time to send an eventually successful play-off semi-final against Notts County to extra time, and recently scored two penalties at St Mary’s Stadium to see Grimsby progress into the FA Cup Quarter Finals.
Anthony Driscoll-Glennon currently leads the club’s assists charts with nine and has also added three goals from left back to total 12 goal contributions this term.
The 23-year-old started his youth journey with Liverpool and ended it at Burnley before signing a professional contract with the Clarets in 2019.
In 2020, Driscoll-Glennon joined Grimsby on loan and spent another temporary spell at Barrow last season before re-joining the Mariners on a permanent basis upon their return to the EFL last summer.
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