Bristol Rovers predicted team vs Ipswich: Connor Taylor among changes for Carabao Cup clash

Both Joey Barton and Andy Mangan have used the verb ‘learn’ frequently in their recent interviews, either saying something is an opportunity to learn or insisting that Bristol Rovers are still learning. Frankly, it summarises where the Gas are currently.

Being just one competitive game into the new season with a squad trying to grasp a new style of play with eight new players, Rovers are nowhere near the finished product and won’t be for some time.

Speaking after their final friendly of pre-season against Chesterfield, Mangan emphasised that patience will be key as they look to develop into a side capable of ruffling some feathers in League One this season.

Anyone who watched the latter stages of the Gas’ preparations or their 1-1 draw at Portsmouth last weekend would have been able to see exactly what Barton and co. are trying to build this season and should quite rightly be excited.

Despite being four minutes away from holding onto a precious three points away at one of the early favourites for promotion in their season opener, Rovers looked excellent in spells and held their own at one of the toughest places to go in the league.

However, as expected, they also showed that there’s still loads of work to be done on the training pitch which again reiterates that all-important need for patience.

Next up in the schedule is another opportunity for the Bristol Rovers coaching staff to learn more about their players and the current status of the squad with a trip to Championship side Ipswich Town in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

As with any cup tie in the early stages, the first question that arises regards how strongly both teams will line up, showing how seriously they plan to take the competition.

Barton has gone on record to share his desire to take the cup competitions seriously this season, although Mangan, who will be in charge once again this evening amid the Rovers manager’s three-game ban, remained tight lipped on the club’s approach to the match.

When asked about how the club will approach the Ipswich game after the Portsmouth draw, the Gas coach told Bristol Live: “That’s something we’ll have to discuss.

“We don’t know how the lads are going to deal with obviously this game. We have to check their bodies, check what the numbers are, check if anyone’s had any knocks. That’s something we’ll discuss over the coming days.”

All said and done though, with the state of the current squad, only a handful of changes may be on the agenda. Here is how Bristol Live predicts the Gas to start against Ipswich with the assumption that they maintain their 4-4-2 set up…

Now that we know Matt Cox will start the season as first-choice in between the sticks, surely that implies James Belshaw will be given a run out at Portman Road, right?

The club have added another young goalkeeper in Matt Hall to their ranks with the former Southampton shot stopper yet to play for Rovers having not been involved in the friendly against Chesterfield or the league opener at Portsmouth.

That shouldn’t stop Belshaw getting a first competitive game of the season though. That choice seems obvious at least.

In front of the 32-year-old, if there was any player guaranteed to play tonight it seems to be Connor Taylor. Mangan admitted to Bristol Live that ‘Wednesday probably can’t come soon enough’ for the centre-back, who returned to Rovers last Thursday on a permanent deal from Stoke City.

The former loanee is already a fan favourite due to his significant contribution two seasons ago to get the Gas back in League One and looks to eventually be a regular in the starting line up. Managing just over half-an-hour from the bench at Fratton Park, the 21-year-old needs a start to get himself up to speed.

Partnering him is another summer signing in Tristan Crama. It could be argued that it was a surprise to see the Frenchman on the bench on Saturday with James Connolly the preferred option but this is a perfect opportunity for the Brentford loanee to show what he can do in a competitive environment.

It’s unclear how close James Gibbons is to being match-fit and with George Friend still side lined, it seems as though Mangan has his hands tied and will have to pick both Luca Hoole and Lewis Gordon once again in the full-back positions.

Central midfield, particularly defensive midfield, is arguably the highest-priority position to address before the end of the transfer window with current available options being light.

Jordan Rossiter won’t be in action for a while still whilst, like Gibbons, there’s been no recent update on Luke McCormick’s current status with the last update stating he was due back on the grass last Monday (July 31).

Like with Taylor, this is the perfect opportunity to give players much-needed minutes and that applies to Josh Grant. Although the Rovers coaching staff will be looking to wrap the midfielder in cotton wool after every time he plays, he has to be given the chance to start a match.

The 24-year-old made his first competitive appearance for the Gas in almost a year on Saturday, coming off of the bench to fill in at left-back.

Whether he replaces Sam Finley or Grant Ward could be decided by the flip of a coin in reality but, given his captaincy, we’ve predicted the former to keep his place alongside Grant.

Ok, this really could be done with the flip of a coin.

Given that they didn’t start against Portsmouth, Antony Evans and Scott Sinclair seem likely to come in. Sinclair would take up his usual role on the left and, in order to accommodate other players, Evans is going on the right, albeit slightly unorthodox.

In terms of strikers, if the club want to take the cup seriously then Aaron Collins and Jevani Brown should be very much in contention to play up front.

With Collins, Gasheads know the quality he possesses whilst with Brown, the new signing still needs time to integrate into the side but showed his ability through pre-season as well as at Fratton Park, setting up Luke Thomas’ goal.

Realistically though, you could have Evans play a more advanced central role, have John Marquis keep his spot in the team or bring Ryan Loft back from the shadows after an absence from the last three matchday squads.

There is also an argument to bring some youngsters into the side too, such as Jerry Lawrence, Ryan Jones and Harvey Greenslade, although all are currently expected to go out on loan.

Six changes seems justifiable if you want to give some players an opportunity whilst maintaining a first-choice look to the starting XI. Let’s see just how wrong we are at 6.45pm tonight.