It's a long way to travel but the Gas will go in as favourites, and rightly so, against the Conference side, at odds of 10/11 with the hosts as outsiders at 3/1, but don't let those figures fool you.
The Quakers have won their last two games, an FA Cup fourth round qualifier against Northern League Division 1 North side Mossley AFC, followed by a much tougher contest against in the Blue Square Bet Premier League match against then divisional leaders AFC Wimbledon. The FA Cup tie was an intriguing game that featured eight goals and three red cards, Darlington running out 6-2 winners. It makes a big difference from the start of the month when Darlo lost their first three league matches, each by a single goal. October also saw a 1-1 draw away to fellow former Football League club Mansfield Town.
October was a far better month for Bristol Rovers, however. The pirates won three, drew two and lost just one of their six games in the month, including a last gasp win against Huddersfield, one of the teams expected to be up towards the top of the league come the end of the season. But November hasn't started quite so well, Rovers going down by three goals to one away to Plymouth in a west country derby, leaving the Gas 15th in the League 1 form table.
Two former Rovers players may well be on display in the form of defender Kevin Austin and striker Jefferson Louis. Austin, who received seven caps for Trinidad & Tobago, is an imposing centre back who spent two seasons at the Memorial Stadium, making 61 Rovers appearances after signing on a free. At 37 years old Austin's lack of pace may be an asset that Rovers, especially in Jo Kuffour, can take advantage of. Louis had much less of a Rovers career, playing ten times , mainly as a substitute, during a four month spell with the club, failing to score in any of those appearances. Louis is only on loan at Darlington, his parent club being Conference North side Gainsborough Trinity, but hopes to make the move permanent in January.
Darlington have recently lost three players over the last week. Loan signing Danny Powell was recalled by MK Dons after a virus went around the camp, meaning that they could only field four subs for their Tuesday night league game against Yeovil Town, which they won 3-2. The club also let keepers Chris Oldfield and Dan Lowson, both of whom were signed on non-contract terms. Indeed, Darlington may suffer further consequences for signing Oldfield, who Chester FC claim was the subject of an illegal approach from the Quakers who have been reported to the FA for their indiscretion.
One player Rovers will have to watch out for is Darlo top scorer Chris Senior. The striker has spent his entire career in the non-league game and netted in the surprise win over AFC Wimbledon, as well as scoring two in the cup qualifier against Mossley. Another threat will be midfielder Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, a Carlisle loan player who scored on the opening day of the season against the Gas two seasons ago.
Rovers will be forced into at least one change as Reading don't want keeper Mikkel Andersen cup-tied, giving Mike Green another chance in goal, while captain and everpresent Stuart Campbell may also be out after being taken off at Plymouth with a dead leg. It also looks as if John Akinde may be out of the door at Bristol City, who have given the Gas permission to play him in the game. Midfielder Charlie Reece will also be looking to continue his run in the starting XI. The youngster spoke to the Bristol Evening Post about his recent games, saying:
"I'm really enjoying my football, but I know I can't take anything for granted. I have to concentrate on rolling my sleeves up and improving on my game each week.
"The people who I'm keeping out at the moment are my friends and team-mates but we're all desperate to play. I want my place in the team and I want to try and keep it for the rest of the season. That's the way every player looks at it."
He is also confident that Rovers can go to Darlington and put in a proffesional performance:
"We felt a bit hard done by with some of the decisions against us [at Plymouth] but we can't dwell on that. We've got good players and we're creating chances to score goals. It's only a matter of time before that is reflected in the results."
Playing against Conference opposition may also be a good chance to blood some younger players, for instance Ben Swallow or Harry Pell, if Rovers find themselves in a comfortable winning position. One notable exclusion from the Pirates squad in recent games is that of Dominic Blizzard.
Left off of the subs bench in the last two games, Harry Pell taking his place, despite being told Rovers have a fully fit squad to choose from it makes worrying signs for a player of whom so much was thought of when he signed. With only four starts this season and a habit of getting injured it may be that Rovers cut their losses in January, though no rumour has yet been heard on the situation.
Paul Trollope is looking forward to Saturday's game and talked about how exciting the FA Cup is for his players, telling bristolrovers.co.uk:
"The first round of the FA Cup always brings a buzz to every club, it is break from the league action, and something that everyone looks forward to.
"We went out in the first round last year to Southampton, and this year we want to have a run in the competition like we have done in the past.
"A few years ago it was very kind to us, but we want to get cracking again this year.
"We have always taken it seriously, and we are going to go with a full strength team, as much as we can, because we want to make progress."
Darlington boss Mark Cooper came through the youth ranks at Bristol City though never made a first team appearance for the club. The former Peterborough manager has made sure his players know how important the cup is for both them, making this public when he spoke to darlington-fc.net:
"I've told the players, careers can change because of an FA Cup run,
"I got the chance to manage in the Championship because of the FA Cup, although it didn't last long!
"But I got the chance to be there because of having various cup runs and doing reasonably well in the league.
"If we win we'll be on ITV on Saturday night. I've told them, make sure it's you who's scoring the winning goal."
With Rovers performing averagely in the league an FA Cup run is just what is required to bring some of the fans back to the Memorial Stadium, but that depends on a game that is very losable for an up and down Gas team. Could this be the catalst that turns the season around for them? That's what all Rovers fans will be hoping.
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