The Mariners are back at Blundell Park tomorrow afternoon as Town welcome Bristol Rovers for a Sky Bet League Two clash at the home of the Mariners.
David Artell’s side will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the league campaign against a Bristol Rovers side who arrive on the Lincolnshire coast sitting at the top of the table.
The Opposition
Bristol Rovers currently sit top of Sky Bet League Two, having collected 12 points from their opening five league fixtures.
Steve Evans’ side began the campaign with a 3-2 defeat away at York City, but have responded impressively by winning each of their last four league matches.
The Gas recorded victories over Crawley Town, Colchester United and Rotherham United in their last three outings, with their most recent success coming against Rotherham as Tommy Leigh’s first-time effort secured a 1-0 victory.
Rovers were relegated from League One in 2025 before finishing 14th in League Two last season. They will now be hoping their impressive start can provide the platform for a promotion challenge, with Evans targeting a 10th promotion of his managerial career.
Mariners’ Start
Town remain unbeaten after their opening five League Two fixtures, recording one victory and four draws.
The Mariners began the campaign with a 1-0 victory over Exeter City at Blundell Park before drawing 0-0 away at Walsall. Back-to-back 2-2 draws against Fleetwood Town and Accrington Stanley followed.
Last weekend, Town were involved in another entertaining 2-2 draw, this time away at Cheltenham Town. The Mariners found themselves two goals behind after strikes from Charlie McCann and Andreas Weimann, but showed plenty of character to fight back and earn a point through goals from Mark Shelton and Kieran Green.
Artell’s side now sit 11th in League Two with seven points from their opening five matches and will be looking to turn some of those draws into victories as they face the current league leaders.
Head-to-Head
Tomorrow’s fixture will be the 44th competitive meeting between Grimsby Town and Bristol Rovers, with the Gas holding the historical advantage.
Rovers have recorded 19 victories to Town’s 13, while the remaining 11 meetings have ended in draws.
The first meeting between the two clubs came in the FA Cup First Round in January 1910, when Bristol Rovers ran out 2-0 winners. More recently, they have enjoyed the upper hand, winning both meetings between the sides last season and remaining unbeaten in the last five encounters.
Town’s most recent victory over Rovers came at Blundell Park in February 2007, when the Mariners produced a memorable 4-3 comeback after trailing 2-1 at half-time. Danny North, Justin Whittle, Danny Boshell and Ciaran Toner were on target for Town that afternoon.
The two clubs also share a memorable history from the National League, with the 2015 Conference Premier play-off final at Wembley ending in a 1-1 draw before Rovers prevailed on penalties.
Last Time We Met
The most recent meeting between the two sides came at the Memorial Stadium on 21st February 2026.
Rovers raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 20 minutes, with Kofi Balmer opening the scoring before Joe Quigley doubled the hosts’ advantage. Andy Cook gave Town hope after the break, but Yusuf Akhamrich restored Bristol Rovers’ two-goal advantage to secure a 3-1 victory for the Pirates.
The result completed a league double for Rovers, who had also recorded a 1-0 victory at Blundell Park earlier in the season.
One to Watch
Fabrizio Cavegn
Swiss striker Fabrizio Cavegn will be one to watch for the visitors, having finished as Bristol Rovers’ leading scorer last season with 15 goals in 51 appearances across all competitions.
The forward is now in his second season at the Memorial Stadium and has already found the net twice in six appearances this campaign.
Cavegn began his career with Team Südostschweiz U18 and FC Chur 97 before joining FC St Gallen, where he scored 42 goals in 53 appearances for the club’s reserve side.
A move to FC Vaduz followed, with Cavegn helping the club win back-to-back Liechtenstein Cups before earning a move to Rovers.
He has also represented Switzerland at Under-21 level and will provide another attacking threat for Evans’ side.
Tommy Leigh
Midfielder Tommy Leigh returned to Bristol Rovers on loan from Bradford City for another season after impressing during his spell with the Gas last campaign.
Leigh made 14 appearances after joining midway through last season, contributing four goals and two assists.
He has already made his mark this term, scoring the only goal in Rovers’ 1-0 victory over Rotherham United last weekend to keep his side at the top of the table.
A Portsmouth academy graduate, Leigh made his name with Accrington Stanley before later joining MK Dons and Bradford City. He helped Bradford secure promotion to League One before returning to Bristol Rovers.
The Numbers
- Bristol Rovers have won four of their opening five league matches this season, completing that feat in the Football League for the first time since 2004/05.
- Town have drawn each of their last four league matches, their longest run of league draws since August 2007.
- Bristol Rovers have won five of their last seven Football League meetings with Grimsby Town, suffering two defeats during that run and keeping four clean sheets.
- Rovers have won their last two meetings with Town, completing a league double last season.
- Town’s last home victory over Bristol Rovers came in February 2007, when the Mariners won 4-3 in a memorable Blundell Park thriller.
- Bristol Rovers have scored 12 goals in their opening five league fixtures, while Town have found the net seven times.
- Town remain unbeaten in League Two this season, with one win and four draws from their opening five fixtures.
Match Officials
Edward Duckworth will take charge of tomorrow’s fixture, with Samuel Clayton and Danny Guest appointed as assistant referees and Andrew Miller named as fourth official.
Duckworth has taken charge of eight matches so far during the 2026/27 campaign, including one League Two fixture.
The referee officiated 40 matches across a number of competitions during the 2025/26 season, issuing 156 yellow cards and 11 red cards across his appointments.
Duckworth last refereed Grimsby Town in October 2024, when he took charge of the Mariners’ 3-0 home defeat to Doncaster Rovers.
Tomorrow’s meeting promises to be another intriguing contest, with the league leaders visiting a Mariners side determined to extend their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Get behind the Town and make some noise at Blundell Park!
UTM
