Gillingham will host Cheltenham Town on Tuesday as they aim to start climbing away from the relegation zone, which they currently sit just two points above.
However, the visitors head to the Priestfield Stadium in the midst of a six-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, which is going to provide plenty of confidence to them.
Match preview
© Reuters
Gillingham have had a tough start to their League One campaign, having won just three of their opening 18 matches, which has resulted in them sitting 20th in the table.
While they are two points clear of the relegation zone at the moment, all three of the four teams below them have at least one game in hand, which is something the squad will be wary of.
It has been seven matches since the Gills last won, with their most recent outing away at Crewe Alexandra resulting in a 2-0 defeat as Chris Long and Tom Lowery both found the back of the net.
However, they have played their opponents on Tuesday twice recently in the FA Cup and even though Gillingham did not progress they were able to give a solid account of themselves.
The first meeting led to a 1-1 draw, with a goal from Gerald Sithole forcing a replay, but when they travelled to Cheltenham they were unable to find the same success with a Mattie Pollock strike knocking the Gills out.
That win for Michael Duff's side continued their impressive run of form, which was then extended at the weekend when they defeated Shrewsbury Town.
Goals from Conor Thomas and Kyle Joseph secured the 2-1 victory on Saturday and that extended their unbeaten spell to six matches, bringing plenty of confidence into the squad.
Cheltenham sit just outside of the playoffs, but with a game in hand on many of the teams above them, the club will see Tuesday as an opportunity to put pressure on those above them.
However, while they have been confident in front of goal, defensively there have been weak spots for them, conceding 28 goals so far this season, which is actually more than their opponents.
- L
- W
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- W
Team News
Neither Ben Reeves nor Danny Lloyd were available for Gillingham on Saturday after both men had to be substituted due to injuries when they last faced Cheltenham in the FA Cup and they will likely miss out again on Tuesday.
Once again Joe Gbode was able to appear from the bench for the Gills on Saturday as the youngster continues to break through into the team and he will be an option once again.
Steve Evans was also boosted by the returns of Robbie McKenzie and Mustapha Carayol when they faced Crewe and both men are likely to start once more.
After scoring past Gillingham in both of the FA Cup games, Pollock will be hoping his luck continues on Tuesday and he will likely feature in the heart of the defence once again.
Ellis Chapman was unable to pass a fitness test to feature for Cheltenham at the weekend, but with a few extra days he could find himself involved in the squad for this match.
However, Duff will be without several names at the moment due to injuries that Callum Wright, Taylor Perry, Will Boyle and Charlie Raglan are all suffering.
Gillingham possible starting lineup:
Cumming; Akehurst, Ehmer, Tucker, Jackson; O'Keefe, Phillips, Adshead, McKenzie; Akinde, Sithole
Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:
Flinders; Long, Pollock, Freestone; Hussey, Blair, Sercombe, Thomas, Crowley; Vassell, Norton
We say: Gillingham 1-2 Cheltenham Town
Having just played each other twice recently, the two squads should know their opponents well, which will likely result in quite a closely-fought contest.
However, the visitors should just have the edge in terms of quality and that could see them through in order to secure the three points here.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Gillingham win with a probability of 39.28%. A win for Cheltenham Town had a probability of 33.17% and a draw had a probability of 27.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Gillingham win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.41%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.24%) and 2-0 (7.23%). The likeliest Cheltenham Town win was 0-1 (10.27%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.01%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 5.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Cheltenham Town would win this match.
