MATTY Taylor will be in no mood for a rest when former club Bristol Rovers roll into town this weekend.

The Oxford United striker is not a popular figure among Pirates fans, having made the switch to bitter rivals Bristol City in January 2017.

Taylor has not missed a Sky Bet League One game this season, while five goals in his last seven matches have helped the U’s rise into the play-off places.

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And the 31-year-old is keen to continue his good form against his old side in the Emirates FA Cup first round on Sunday.

He said: “I’d love to play, we’ll be going all out to win and get to the next round.

“I didn’t see the draw and then my phone started to ping, so I checked the internet and saw we got my old team.

“It’s always been a good atmosphere between the two sides and I’m sure I’ll be getting a fair bit of abuse from their fans.

“It’s all part and parcel of the game, it drives me on so hopefully we get the win.”

Taylor joined Rovers in 2014 and won consecutive promotions as the club climbed from the Vanarama National League to League One.

His first game back at the Memorial Stadium came days after he had returned to United on loan from City in August 2019, when Karl Robinson’s side were given a police escort to the ground.

There was plenty of hostility directed the No 9’s way even in the 33 minutes before he was withdrawn due to a groin injury, while he even received abuse during a pre-season friendly this summer.

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Those experiences sandwiched a pair of 2-0 wins over his old club earlier this year, with Taylor scoring both goals in a 2-0 League One triumph in January.

That game ended Rovers’ six-match winning league run at the Kassam Stadium.

Gas fans had only snapped up 700 tickets as of Wednesday, so it may not be a sold-out away end.

But Taylor is not bothered, as he targets progress in the Cup.

He said: “You can’t pick who you get, we’re at home so that’s nice.

“It’ll be a tough game, they’re a hard-working side and their record here in the last few years tended to be quite good.

“Hopefully that doesn’t come out on Sunday and fingers crossed we’ll turn the tide.

“We’d like to get as far as we can in the competition.”