AFC Wimbledon vs Bristol Rovers. Sky Bet League One.
Kingsmeadow StadiumAttendance4,850.
Thursday 18 April 2019 15:04, UK
AFC Wimbledon boss Wally Downes received a major fitness boost ahead of Friday's visit of Bristol Rovers after several senior players made it through a Central League match unscathed this week.
Captain Deji Oshilaja, Andy Barcham, Tom Soares, Tyler Garratt and Jake Jervis have all been absent from the first team for over a month but each played for the development squad in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over Cheltenham.
Striker Kwesi Appiah, who missed last weekend's draw at Oxford, also got 90 minutes under his belt as Downes was left with fully-fit squad to choose from. The relegation-battling Dons are one point adrift of safety - and five behind Rovers - with four matches remaining in League One.
Daniel Leadbitter is closing in on a return to action for Graham Coughlan's Pirates but this weekend is likely to come too soon for the defender. The right-back has been unavailable since January due to injury but he completed the full match for the development side in midweek.
Alex Rodman, having made his first senior appearance in almost two months as a substitute against Bradford last week, also played in the Central League fixture as he builds match fitness and is set to be involved again this weekend. Two other players who will have hoped to have pushed their claims for first-team recalls in midweek are veteran midfielder Chris Lines and 19-year-old striker Deon Moore, who scored both goals in the 2-1 win.
AFC Wimbledon have only lost one of their last five home encounters with Bristol Rovers (W2 D2 L1), winning 1-0 last term.
Bristol Rovers have kept a clean sheet in seven of their last 10 league encounters with AFC Wimbledon, including in the reverse fixture in October.
AFC Wimbledon are winless on Good Friday matches in the Football League (D3 L4), failing to score a goal in each of the last three seasons.
Bristol Rovers have only lost one of their last 10 league away trips (W5 D4), keeping clean sheets in half of these matches.
AFC Wimbledon have kept five clean sheets in their last eight league games, only one fewer than in their first 34 games of the campaign.
