Inside track Forest Green Rovers: What can Hartlepool United expect from league Two leaders ahead of League Two clash at the New Lawn Stadium

Graeme Lee’s side face the League Two leaders looking to bounce back from their defeat to Salford City last time out.

But what can Pools expect from Forest Green? We caught up with Gloucestershire Live and The FGR pod member Laurie Martin for the inside track on Rob Edwards’ side.

Forest Green are on the brink of promotion, has that surpassed pre-season expectations or was there always hope of challenging?

After finishing in the play-offs in two of the last three seasons, there was definitely an expectation to be challenging towards the top end of the table but expectations have been massively exceeded.

Nobody could have predicted they would dominate the league in the manner they have. There was also that element of uncertainty surrounding how Rob Edwards would perform in his first managerial role in the Football League, but he’s emphatically answered any doubters.

After a bit of a sticky patch, it looks like Rob Edwards' side have come out the other end with three successive 1-0 wins. Are they now over that blip?

I think so. Edwards wasn’t particularly concerned with the performances in that seven-game winless run.

When you break it down, four of those were draws, three of which were away at Sutton, Newport and Salford.

Before that, Rovers went 19 games unbeaten. So there was always going to be a natural drop off as it’s impossible to sustain that level of dominance.

Wins against Colchester and Scunthorpe got Rovers back on track, but the recent victory over Mansfield was incredibly impressive and has put Forest Green within touching distance of League One.

What can Pools expect in terms of style of play and is there any team news?

The big news is that Matty Stevens, Forest Green’s top scorer, is out with an ACL injury that he sustained in the 1-0 win over Scunthorpe. Josh March replaced him and scored the only goal in the Mansfield victory on Tuesday. Midfielder Ben Stevenson could also miss out after hobbling off with a knee injury against Mansfield.

Edwards has played a 3-4-1-2 formation for every league game this campaign. He’s settled on a pretty consistent side, with Rovers only using 19 players all season, the least in the entire Football League.

Forest Green like to get the ball wide to the wing-backs Kane Wilson and Nicky Cadden who possess great quality in wide areas. Stevens, and Jamille Matt, who has 17 league goals, have scored the majority of their goals by meeting crosses from Wilson and Cadden in the box.

Who are the key danger men for Pools to watch out for this weekend?

Ebou Adams, an all-action midfielder, has been drawing plenty of plaudits from opposition managers recently. Adams has been a consistent performer for the last three seasons and Rovers will do well to keep hold of him in the summer with his contract up at the end of the season.

Wing-backs Wilson and Cadden are also two stars of this team. At 21, Wilson is one of the most exciting prospects in the Football League. He has the most assists in League Two with 13 and is another who will have clubs circling this summer.

On the left side, Cadden has registered 12 assists and scored six goals, possessing great quality from dead-balls.

Forest Green impressed in the reverse fixture with a 3-1 success. How do you see this one playing out?

That felt like a bit of a statement win at Hartlepool. Rovers were 3-0 up by half-time and it started a four-game winning run. Hartlepool have little to play for, but it’s been an impressive first season back in the Football League. However, Forest Green seem to be back in the groove, so I’ll go for a 2-1 Rovers win.