We look ahead to Saturday's league fixture
NOTTS COUNTY V GILLINGHAMMeadow Lane
Sky Bet League One
Saturday December 7
Kick-Off, 3pm
Team News:
Peter Taylor has a few selection headaches ahead of this weekend’s trip to Meadow Lane.
John Mousinho (hamstring) and Elliott Hewitt (ankle) have both returned to their parent clubs after picking up injuries which have prevented them from playing for the Gills again before their respective loan deals expire.
As a result Charlie Allen has been recalled from his loan spell at Tamworth, while Steven Gregory and Amine Linganzi are still a week away from being able to play 90 minutes.
Craig Fagan remains on the sidelines for another week with the Manager confident he will be ready for the Peterborough game at Priestfield next Saturday.
As for County, they will have to make do without on loan striker Marcus Haber who is serving the second of a three match ban following his dismissal at Bradford last Tuesday.
Bradley Jordan, on loan from Charlton, could make his debut after Derry decided not to name him in the match squad for last weekend’s defeat to Brentford.
Fellow Addicks loanee Morgan Fox and Derby striker Callum Ball could start after coming off the bench in the same game.
Manager Comments:
Following the defeat at New York Stadium last week Peter called on his players to start games in a more positive fashion, and although Saturday’s opponents are bottom of the league, Peter says their style of play will still cause problems.
He said: “It will be tough because Shaun Derry has gone in there and got the dressing room right. They still look like a very attractive team and I’m expecting them to create chances, but I expect us to create chances too.
“Amine Linganzi has trained for two days this week but is not ready for 90 minutes.
“Charlie Allen trained very well today [Thursday], he won’t start but he hasn’t done himself any harm.
“Steven Gregory has trained a little this week but is more likely to be available for Peterborough.
“Danny Kedwell has had an illness and only trained today; Craig Fagan isn’t ready yet but there’s a good chance he’ll be back for Peterborough.”
The Gaffer – Shaun Derry
Derry began his playing career at Meadow Lane in 1995, spending three years at the club before being signed by Sheffield United.
Stints at Portsmouth and Crystal Palace followed prior to joining Leeds United in 2005. He was loaned back out to Palace before re-joining permanently in 2008.
He signed for QPR two years later, and at the beginning of this season joined Millwall on a 28-day loan deal prior to becoming Manager at County.
He has only been in the managerial hot seat for a month, and although the team have yet to record a win under his stewardship, County took a point from Valley Parade last week, and were only denied another draw by the odd strike against Brentford on Saturday.
Derry however is unable to feature in a playing capacity for the club as he has already represented Queens Park Rangers and Millwall this season.
The Skipper – Dean Leacock
The centre half came through the ranks at Premiership side Fulham, where he made his professional debut in 2002.
However he was unable to consistently force his way in to first team consideration and joined Derby County in 2006 via two loan spells at Coventry.
In January 2012 he signed for Leyton Orient until the end of the season, with County acquiring his services in that summer on a two year contract.
He has represented England at U18, U19 and U20 level.
One to Watch – Jamal Campbell-Ryce
In the last meeting between the two clubs in October, Campbell-Ryce started the game and posed a constant threat down the left side with his pace and quick feet.
He has caught the eye at previous clubs including Rotherham, Barnsley and Bristol City, and is likely to have an impact once again if he gets picked at the weekend.
He is yet to score this season, but his ability to make things happen in the final third of the pitch will give any defence a difficult afternoon.
Notts County – the season so far
The Magpies, having been guided to 12th place in League One last season by initial Caretaker Manager Chris Kiwomya, offered the former Arsenal midfielder a three-year-contract to remain at the helm at Meadow Lane.
However his tenure only lasted a few months after an unfortunate start to the campaign which saw the team fail to win any of their opening seven league fixtures.
Following a 1-0 home defeat to Preston in October Kiwomya and the club parted company.
Their progress in the respective cup competitions has been encouraging. They got through to the second round of the Capital One Cup where Liverpool needed extra time at Anfield to advance to the next stage.
In the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy County got to the Northern Area Quarter Finals only to be dumped out by Oldham in a 5-1 defeat, just days after being eliminated in the first round of the FA Cup following a 3-2 loss to Hartlepool at Victoria Park.
Previous Meetings:
The Gills came out 2-1 winners at MEMS Priestfield Stadium as recently as October with Chris Whelpdale and Danny Kedwell grabbing the goals in the first half which proved enough to clinch all three points in Peter Taylor’s second game as Interim Manager.
Callum McGregor pulled a goal back with just over 10 minutes to go but it wasn’t enough to deny Gills a home victory.
In total the teams have met on 28 occasions, with Gillingham having the upper hand of the head to head statistics with 14 victories. Six games have been draws with County winning the remaining eight.
Current Form:
County: LLLLDL (1 point)
Gills: DWLLWL (6 points)
Betting:
After last week’s defeat to Rotherham the Gills are well priced to bounce back immediately, and for a 1-0 victory you can get odds of 9/1 with Sky Bet.
To match the Gills best away score of the season, that being a 3-0 win at Crewe, you can get a best price of 40/1, while Danny Kedwell is 6/1 to score first.
Officials:
Referee - Jeremy Simpson
Assistants - Michael D'aguilar and Robert Merchant
Fourth Official - Stephen Martin