Now, it's not often we concede this early but, it must be confessed, this predicted team was always going to be more unlikely to be spot on than ususal because of the fact that a few unnamed players are set to miss out.

Dave Horseman took media duties on Thursday afternoon to preview this afternoon's FA Cup second round tie at Barnsley following the news that Matt Taylor would be taking a leave of absence to deal with a family emergency. Horseman and assistant manager Wayne Carlisle will be leading the team until Taylor's return.

However, the Rovers coach revealed that the Gas will certainly be without "one or two" due to the fact that they're at high injury risk amid fatigue. He couldn't name them though in order to prevent giving too much away to the opposition too early.

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There are obviously players more likely for it to be than others so we could guess but it's likely that there will have to be a few changes in there anyways because of the fact that Rovers will end up playing five games within 14 days. So, a fair bit of guess work has gone into this

An additional confession is, due to the fact that a lot of the below is based off of personal judgement accumulated over weeks and weeks of covering the team, there's a hint of personal preference in there too.

Okay, all clear? Good. Here's how we think the Gas could line up away at Barnsley this afternoon...

Goalkeeper and defence

With the greatest of respect to Matt Hall, let's pray that one of those injuries is to Josh Griffiths because it would leave Rovers with one senior goalkeeper and even that description is a stretch considering Hall has only played two EFL Trophy matches for the Gas.

It would be extremely surprising if Griffiths picked up any sort of issue so the chances are extremely high that he'll be fine to play. The 23-year-old is the obvious pick in between the sticks with the gap in quality and experience between himself and Rovers' number two so vast that it's not worth risking rotation to give Hall an opportunity.

Ahead of the goalkeeper, it would also be a massive shame if there are injuries in defence given how well the backline have played lately, particularly Connor Taylor and James Wilson. The latter had his fair share of injury issues last term but has had a largely imacculate record so far this term so it wouldn't be a surprise if the number of games he's been playing caught up.

However, it's easiest to predict and assume that the back-four will be as normal which will be Taylor Moore at right-back, Taylor and Wilson as the central defenders and Clinton Mola at left-back.

Should Rovers have to take out a central defender, the most likely solution will be to slot in Michael Forbes but they could also put Moore in there and bring in Joel Senior. The only doubt in regards to that option is the fact that the right-back hasn't played in three months, however he is expected to be on the bench at least given the fact that the FA Cup permit nine substitutes to be named in a squad.

Then, if Mola was to be absent it would most likely be a straight swap for Bryant Bilongo who actually started against Blackpool in place of Mola but had a poor night.

Midfield

Although there was some confusion, it is believed that Kamil Conteh will be suspended for Tuesday night's League One trip to Leyton Orient instead of this afternoon's game having picked up a fifth yellow card of the season against Blackpool on Tuesday night.

The 21-year-old has been a regular in Rovers' side all campaign and one of few stand out performers in defeat last time out. It's a no-brainer he starts.

However, there's less certainty about his regular midfield partner Jamie Lindsay who was taken off earlier than usual in the second half on Tuesday night and there is certainly a case for bringing in the legs of Grant Ward for some freshness in the middle. Once again, the game against Leyton Orient will also be on the coaches' minds.

Then in the attacking trio, this is probably more of a preference, but this feels like a good opportunity to bring in Luke Thomas. The majority of supporters seemed to be befuddled and frustrated that the winger didn't come on earlier than he did against Blackpool with Rovers 2-0 down and chasing the game.

It's no secret that the 25-year-old has been below par this season but the majority of his minutes came at right-wing-back whereas now he'd be playing in a more natural position. Shaq Forde's performances have come in peaks and troughs so far in a Gas shirt, which is exactly what is expected of the 20-year-old, but it might be time just to give him a rest.

However, both Luke McCormick and Isaac Hutchinson remain likely starters with the pair playing their best football of the season, possibly in a Rovers shirt if you include McCormick in that statement. The attacking midfielder has really struggled to nail down a regular starting place but November has been a very good month for the 25-year-old.

Striker

Now, ahead of Blackpool we predicted that Gatlin O'Donkor would come into the side to lead the line with Chris Martin seemingly unlikely to start twice within four days. However, the striker very much proved that he can and that any concerns of a repeat injury are well and truly behind him.

Again, naturally fans will include the 36-year-old in their mental list of players who are more likely to pick up fatigue-related issues than others but with no confirmation of whether Martin is fit enough or not for this game, the assumption will have to be that he's available and therefore is very likely to start.

O'Donkor is also a good support option while Ruel Sotiriou didn't get on the pitch against Mansfield nor Blackpool while also not getting any minutes while away with Cyprus earlier in the month. He is very much in line for some minutes.

Bristol Rovers XI (4-2-3-1): Josh Griffiths; Taylor Moore, Connor Taylor, James Wilson, Clinton Mola; Kamil Conteh, Grant Ward; Luke Thomas, Luke McCormick, Isaac Hutchinson; Chris Martin

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