We are delighted to announce our fantastic 2026/27 pre-season schedule below. Rovers will play seven pre-season fixtures over a period of four weeks. Rovers will also play Slimbridge; however, the game will be behind closed doors and not available to the public.
All ticket details regarding the fixtures will be released soon.
Tuesday 7th July, 19:00: Bishops Cleeve (A) – Kayte Lane
Our first pre-season fixture will commence away at local side Bishops Cleeve on Tuesday, 7th July at 19:00. Rovers faced Bishops Cleeve back in April, where Rovers came away as 6-2 winners at The New Lawn to win the GFA Senior Challenge Cup.
Saturday 18th July, 15:00: Merthyr Town (A) – Penydarren Park
Rovers will then travel to Wales to face Merthyr Town. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides. Rovers do have some recent history with Merthyr, having signed the National League North side’s leading goalscorer Ricardo Rees back in January.
Tuesday 21st July, 19:00: Bristol Rovers (H) – The New Lawn
Bristol Rovers will be the first team to visit The New Lawn during this season’s pre-season schedule. The Gas visit The New Lawn for the first time since March 2023, when Rovers were beaten 3-1. Current manager Robbie Savage’s son, Charlie, put the men in green ahead to score his first senior career goal.
The sides have met ten times, with Forest Green winning five, Bristol Rovers winning three, and the remaining two ending in draws.
Saturday 25th July, 15:00: Cardiff City (H) – The New Lawn
We will welcome newly promoted Championship side Cardiff City to The New Lawn for our fourth pre-season fixture. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since July 2021. The Bluebirds defeated Rovers 2-1 in a pre-season friendly at The New Lawn. Jamille Matt scored an equalising goal for Rovers after James Collins had put the visitors ahead, before Mark McGuinness secured victory for Cardiff in the 84th minute.
Wednesday 29th July, 19:00: Bristol City (H) – The New Lawn
Only four days later, Rovers will welcome another Championship side, Bristol City, to The New Lawn. Again, this will be the first time Rovers and City have faced each other in five years.
Rovers beat City 6-5 on penalties following a 2-2 draw in the EFL Cup at The New Lawn in August 2021. Regan Hendry scored an injury-time equaliser to take the tie to penalties and secure victory for Rovers.
Saturday 1st August, 15:00: Swindon Town (H) – The New Lawn
Our pre-season schedule will conclude with Swindon Town visiting The New Lawn on Saturday, 1st August. The Robins are another side Rovers have not faced since their time together in the Football League.
Swindon beat Rovers 2-1 at the County Ground thanks to a brace from Daniel Kemp. Striker Matty Taylor grabbed a goal in the 74th minute to equalise, only for Kemp to score seven minutes later and secure victory for Swindon.
As mentioned above, ticket details for all fixtures will be released soon. We are excited to welcome you back to The New Lawn in the near future.
