By Joe Jones
Notts County and Bristol Rovers have met a grand total of 87 times over their history.
The first fixture came on the 11th January 1913, a 2-0 win for the Pirates in the FA Cup at their former home ground, the Eastville Stadium.
The Magpies have claimed 31 wins and 29 draws against Rovers, whilst falling to 27 defeats.
Our last meeting was in League Two on 5 March 2016 at Meadow Lane, the visitors winning 2-0.
Bristol Rovers was founded in 1883 as Black Arabs F.C., and were also known as Eastville Rovers and Bristol Eastville Rovers before finally changing its name to Bristol Rovers in 1899.
The club's official nickname is The Pirates, reflecting the maritime history of Bristol. The local nickname of the club is The Gas, from the gasworks next to their former home Eastville Stadium, which started as a derogatory term used by fans of their main rival Bristol City but was affectionately adopted by the team.
Rovers were admitted to the Football League in 1920 and have played there ever since, apart from spending the 2014–15 season in the Conference Premier.
They previously came close to losing their league status in 1939, when they were re-elected after finishing bottom of Division Three (South), and in 2002 when the team finished one league position away from relegation to the Football Conference.
Their highest finishing positions were in 1956 and 1959, on both occasions ending the season in 6th place in Division Two, then the second tier of English football.
The only major cup competition won by Bristol Rovers is the 1972 Watney Cup, when they beat Sheffield United in the final. The club also won the Division Three (South) Cup in 1934–35, as well as winning or sharing the Gloucestershire Cup on 32 occasions.
The team has never played in European competition; the closest Rovers came was when they missed out on reaching the international stage of the Anglo-Italian Cup in the 1992–93 season on a coin toss held over the phone with West Ham United.
In the FA Cup, Rovers have reached the quarter-final stage on three occasions. The first time was in 1950–51 when they faced Newcastle United at St James' Park in front of a crowd of 62,787, the record for the highest attendance at any Bristol Rovers match.
The second time they reached the quarter final was in 1957–58, when they lost to Fulham, and the most recent appearance at this stage of the competition was during the 2007–08 season, when they faced West Bromwich Albion.
They were the first Division Three team to win an FA Cup tie away to a Premier League side, when in 2002 they beat Derby County 3–1 at Pride Park Stadium.
They have twice reached the final of the Football League Trophy, in 1989–90 and 2006–07, but finished runners-up on both occasions.
On the second occasion they did not allow a single goal against them in the competition en route to the final, but conceded the lead less than a minute after the final kicked off.
Actor Nick Frost is a Bristol Rovers fan, with his character Danny Butterman seen wearing a club shirt in the 2007 film Hot Fuzz.
The retired Conservative MP for Hayes and Harlington Terry Dicks, is also a Gas fan. He mentioned the club in parliament on 5 May 1994 when debating with Labour MP and Chelsea fan Tony Banks.
Team news
Kevin Nolan is not believed to have any fresh injury worries since the win over Newport but has not given any indication as to whether he will ring the changes in Friday's FA Cup first-round encounter.
Rovers top goalscorer Billy Bodin has been missing since injuring his hamstring in the win over Northampton Town four weeks ago, while defender James Clarke is out until the new year after a leg operation.
Darrell Clarke spoke of other players nursing knocks and, having rested a number of his charges in the midweek EFL Trophy game with West Ham, is expected to return to a stronger line-up.
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