Bristol Rovers meet Swindon in the early television programme, Exeter look to extend their clean-sheet run against Fleetwood and unbeaten Walsall host in-form Salford on Monday. Here is the full League Two guide for 24–26 October, including TV channels, form, head-to-head records, predictions and away-fan travel.
All kick-off and travel times are UK local time. Saturday 24 October uses BST. The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October; Monday’s Walsall v Salford fixture and its travel estimates use GMT.
Bristol Rovers v Swindon Town preview
Cheltenham Town v Newport County preview
Northampton Town v Colchester United preview
Barnet v Oldham Athletic preview
Chesterfield v Crewe Alexandra preview
Crawley Town v Tranmere Rovers preview
Exeter City v Fleetwood Town preview
Gillingham v Grimsby Town preview
Rochdale v Accrington Stanley preview
Rotherham United v Shrewsbury Town preview
York City v Port Vale preview
Walsall v Salford City preview
Bristol Rovers v Swindon Town
Last 5 league games · oldest → newest · points
Bristol RoversWLLLL3Swindon TownDLLDW5League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Swindon Town to win.Rovers’ four consecutive league defeats and Swindon’s recent head-to-head advantage support the away selection.
Bristol RoversEvans and Appiah · Bristol Rovers F.CSwindon TownIan Holloway · Swindon Town Football ClubBristol Rovers need to stop four successive league defeats, with six losses in their previous seven games overall. The early television slot gives them a chance to respond at the Memorial Stadium, but a stronger defensive platform is the immediate requirement.
Swindon’s 3–1 win at Barnet ended a sequence of seven away league games without a goal. That response provides a reason for renewed confidence, especially against opponents whose recent results have also been difficult.
Swindon have won four and drawn two of the previous six league meetings with Rovers, including victories on their last three league visits here. Rovers need to prevent that record becoming an expectation in the opening stages, while Swindon must build on their latest away performance.
Cheltenham Town v Newport County
Last 5 league games · oldest → newest · points
Cheltenham TownWLLLW6Newport CountyWDWDD9League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Draw.Cheltenham’s strong home points return meets Newport’s seven-match unbeaten league run, balancing the hosts’ head-to-head advantage.
Newport CountyHayden Mullins · Newport CountyCheltenham have collected thirteen points from six home league games. Their latest 4–2 victory over Fleetwood gives them a positive result to carry into another home assignment, although they will want a more secure performance without the ball.
Newport are unbeaten in seven league games, with two wins and five draws. Their ability to stay involved in close matches has been important, and they will want to keep the hosts from turning home confidence into a quick advantage.
Cheltenham have won the previous four league meetings, but Newport’s current unbeaten run makes a fifth far from automatic. The early kick-off should be a useful test of home attacking momentum against visiting resilience, with both teams needing to avoid the errors that undo a solid start.
Northampton Town v Colchester United
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NorthamptonLLDWL4Colchester UnitedDDLDD4League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Draw.Northampton’s poor recent home return and Colchester’s draw-heavy winless run leave a limited case for either side to win.
Colchester UnitedDanny Cowley · Colchester United FCNorthampton have one win, three draws and nine defeats from their previous thirteen home league matches. Sixfields needs to become a more reliable source of points, with the hosts looking for a response after losing 1–0 to Tranmere in midweek.
Colchester are winless in eight league games, though five of those matches have been draws. They have often stayed competitive without finding the decisive moment, so creating more clear chances is as important as keeping the hosts at arm’s length.
Northampton have won the previous four league meetings between these clubs. That recent fixture record favours the hosts, but their home results and Colchester’s tendency to share the points make this less clear-cut. Both sides need to make their best spells more productive.
Barnet v Oldham Athletic
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BarnetWWWWL12Oldham AthleticLLDWL4League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Barnet to win.Barnet have won four of their last five league games, while Oldham have taken one point from their previous eight away trips.
BarnetConnor Smith · Barnet Football ClubBarnet need to respond to a 3–1 defeat by Swindon, which interrupted a run of four league victories. The hosts still have a strong recent points return, but they will want to restore the control that made that winning sequence possible.
Oldham have lost seven and drawn one of their previous eight away league games, failing to score on their last three trips. A more effective route forward is essential if they are to avoid spending another away match reacting to pressure.
Kabongo Tshimanga has scored in his last four EFL appearances, making his movement a central concern for the visiting defence. Barnet took a win and a draw from last season’s two league meetings with Oldham. The visitors need to limit his service without sacrificing their own attacking options.
Chesterfield v Crewe Alexandra
Last 5 league games · oldest → newest · points
ChesterfieldLWDLD5Crewe AlexandraDWWWL10League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Draw.Chesterfield’s five-match unbeaten home league run meets a Crewe side whose midweek defeat was their first league loss of the season.
ChesterfieldPaul Cook · Chesterfield FC Official YouTube ChannelChesterfield are unbeaten in five home league games since their opening-day defeat, with two wins and three draws. That gives the hosts a reasonable platform, although they need to turn close home contests into victories more consistently.
Crewe’s 2–0 defeat at Exeter was their first league loss of the campaign. Their response is the key question: they need to recover the organisation and attacking conviction that had kept them unbeaten before that midweek setback.
Crewe have won two of their previous three league visits to Chesterfield, while the most recent meeting overall ended in a 2–0 Chesterfield victory in April. The competing home and season records suggest a closely contested match rather than a simple continuation of one result.
Crawley Town v Tranmere Rovers
Last 5 league games · oldest → newest · points
Crawley TownLLDLL1Tranmere RoversDLDLW5League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Tranmere Rovers to win.Crawley’s one point from five home league games gives Tranmere a narrow opening after their midweek away victory.
Crawley TownKevin Blackwell · Crawley Town FCTranmere RoversDarrell Clarke · Official Tranmere RoversCrawley have taken only one point from five home league games. They need a more secure and purposeful performance at the Broadfield Stadium, with Kevin Blackwell’s current pre-match interview setting out the approach to the visit of Tranmere.
Tranmere arrive after winning 1–0 at Northampton. That result gives the visitors something to build on, but they are trying to put together consecutive league victories for the first time since December 2025 rather than simply repeat one encouraging performance.
Tranmere won the previous two league meetings with Crawley 2–0. The hosts need to change that pattern by making their possession more threatening while protecting against quick transitions. For the visitors, patience and discipline could be as valuable as an ambitious opening.
Exeter City v Fleetwood Town
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Exeter CityLWWDW10Fleetwood TownLLDWL4League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Exeter City to win.Exeter’s four consecutive league clean sheets and Fleetwood’s three successive away defeats favour the home side.
Exeter CityMatt Taylor · Exeter City Football ClubFleetwood TownClub match preview · Fleetwood Town FCExeter have kept four successive league clean sheets, with their latest 2–0 win over Crewe adding another positive result to that defensive run. At St James Park, they will want the same organisation to provide a platform for attacks.
Fleetwood have lost their previous three away league games. They need to make this trip more controlled, protecting the spaces in front of their defence while finding enough forward support to test an Exeter side that has recently been hard to break down.
Exeter have lost only one of the clubs’ eight previous EFL meetings, with three wins and four draws. Fleetwood are also winless on their last four league visits here. The visitors need to disrupt both the current defensive trend and that longer fixture record.
Gillingham v Grimsby Town
Last 5 league games · oldest → newest · points
GillinghamLDWLD5Grimsby TownLLLLD1League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Gillingham to win.Gillingham’s unbeaten five-match home league run carries more current weight than Grimsby’s historical advantage in the fixture.
GillinghamGareth Ainsworth and Tom Eaves · Gillingham Football ClubGrimsby TownTom Culshaw · Grimsby Town F.C.Gillingham are unbeaten in five home league games, with two wins and three draws. They have conceded only twice in that sequence and kept three clean sheets, making Priestfield a demanding place for opponents searching for an attacking recovery.
Grimsby are winless in five league games, drawing one and losing four. Their recent head-to-head return is much stronger: they have won four and drawn two of the previous six league meetings with Gillingham, including victories in the last two.
The contrast is between Gillingham’s current home resilience and Grimsby’s success in earlier editions of this fixture. The visitors need to create chances without opening the game too far, while the hosts must turn their defensive platform into enough attacking pressure to make home advantage count.
Rochdale v Accrington Stanley
Last 5 league games · oldest → newest · points
RochdaleWWDLD8AccringtonDWDWD9League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Draw.Rochdale’s strong historical record meets an Accrington side unbeaten in six league games, so current away resilience tempers a home selection.
Accrington StanleyJohn Doolan · ASFCofficialRochdale’s latest league game ended in a 2–2 draw with Grimsby. The hosts need to make their attacking periods count while tightening up at the other end, particularly against visitors whose recent results show a capacity to stay in close contests.
Accrington are unbeaten in six league games, with two wins and four draws. That run offers a much more relevant measure of their present resilience than the older head-to-head figures alone, and they will look to keep Rochdale from establishing a sustained rhythm.
Rochdale have won fourteen of the previous seventeen league meetings and the last four played here. Accrington need to change a difficult fixture pattern while maintaining their current discipline. A match between that history and the visitors’ unbeaten run could stay competitive deep into the second half.
Rotherham United v Shrewsbury Town
Last 5 league games · oldest → newest · points
Rotherham UnitedDLLLD2Shrewsbury TownDWLWW10League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Shrewsbury Town to win.Shrewsbury’s consecutive away league victories and unbeaten nine-visit league record at Rotherham support a narrow away call.
Rotherham UnitedBruce and Joe Rafferty · Rotherham UnitedShrewsbury TownGavin Cowan · Shrewsbury TownRotherham have won one, drawn eight and lost three of their previous twelve home league games. The number of draws shows how often they have stayed involved, but they need to turn that competitiveness into a more decisive return.
Shrewsbury arrive after consecutive away league victories. They also have an encouraging longer record at Rotherham, with five wins and four draws from their previous nine league visits, although those meetings span different squads and circumstances.
Rotherham need to offer enough sustained attacking pressure to make home advantage count. Shrewsbury will want to maintain the confidence of their recent road results without taking unnecessary risks. The hosts’ draw-heavy record means the visitors may need patience before any opening appears.
York City v Port Vale
Last 5 league games · oldest → newest · points
York CityLWDDD6Port ValeWLWWD10League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
York City to win.York’s fourteen home league points contrast with Port Vale’s one away point; the older head-to-head sample carries limited weight.
York CityScott Lindsey · York City FCYork have taken fourteen points from their home league games, a strong platform for this meeting at the Community Stadium. Their last five league results also contain three draws, so they will want to convert another competitive performance into a win.
Port Vale have collected only one away league point. Improving that return means finding a better balance between protecting their defence and supporting attacks, rather than allowing the home side to build pressure without a response.
The clubs have not met in the league since March 2013, when Vale won 2–0. That is distant background rather than a reliable guide to today’s squads. Current home and away performance levels offer a stronger basis for assessing a match in which York will expect to take the initiative.
Walsall v Salford City
Last 5 league games · oldest → newest · points
WalsallWDDDW9Salford CityWWWWW15League head-to-head
Fan Banter Prediction
Draw.Walsall’s unbeaten league campaign meets Salford’s six-match winning run. Those opposing strengths point towards a close Monday contest.
Walsall remain unbeaten after eleven league games, with four wins and seven draws. Their 3–0 victory over Oldham gives the hosts a positive result to carry into Monday, but the frequency of draws shows how often their matches have remained finely balanced.
Salford have won six consecutive league games and are chasing a seventh, which would set a club EFL record. Their current momentum makes this a substantial test for the home defence, regardless of the visitors’ less favourable recent results in this particular fixture.
Walsall have won four, drawn one and lost one of the previous six league meetings with Salford. The visitors need to find space against a home side that has avoided a league defeat, while Walsall must offer more than resilience if they are to end Salford’s winning sequence.
Fan Banter Predictions are our editorial match-result calls, weighing the stated league form, head-to-head samples and confirmed availability where reported. Historical results do not guarantee an outcome. W = win, D = draw, L = loss; form runs oldest to newest and is frozen before this round. Away-fan journeys are approximate car estimates between the clubs’ grounds, with arrival 90–60 minutes before kick-off and return departure about 30 minutes after full-time.
Also read our Championship previews, Premier League preview and running Match of the Day article.
Sources: EFL/Opta pre-match statistics, 22 October; Sky Sports fixtures and UK television listings; league form guide. Interview sources are credited beside each player.
Archive ground photographs, cropped for display: Memorial Stadium — Chris clements at English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0); Whaddon Road — Tom-cf at English Wikipedia (Public domain); The Peoples Pension Stadium — Steve Daniels (CC BY-SA 2.0); Bescot Stadium — MikeMetaled at English Wikipedia (Public domain); Proact Stadium — yellow book (CC BY 2.0); Spotland Stadium — Boothman at English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0); Sixfields Stadium — Dwadfish at English Wikipedia (Public domain); St James Park — Alonstoter (CC0); New York Stadium — dom fellowes from UK (CC BY 2.0); York Community Stadium — DSimmonite (CC BY-SA 4.0); The Hive Stadium — Katie Chan (CC BY-SA 4.0); Priestfield Stadium — Steve Daniels (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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