We look ahead to Saturday's clash at MEMS Priestfield Stadium
GILLINGHAM V OLDHAM ATHLETICSky Bet League One
MEMS Priestfield Stadium
Saturday November 23
Kick-Off, 3pm
Team News:
Peter Taylor will welcome back four players for the visit of Oldham at the weekend with Danny Hollands, Craig Fagan and Elliott Hewitt all back in contention for a first team place.
Michael Harriman is also back in the reckoning after his spell away with the Republic of Ireland U21 side.
Danny Kedwell is doubtful with a shin injury; Steven Gregory (thigh) will miss out while Amine Linganzi (calf) remains on the treatment table.
As for Oldham, midfielder Carl Winchester and defender Edijs Joksts are available once again after spells away with the Northern Ireland and Latvia U21 squads respectively.
Striker Kirk Millar however is likely to miss out after suffering an injury while playing for the Northern Ireland U21 side earlier in the week.
Manager Comments:
After missing out on a second round FA Cup tie, Peter Taylor is hoping his players will respond in the best possible way and produce the type of performance which saw them beat Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in their last league outing.
Speaking to the media on Monday night he said: “The last two performances against Sheffield United and Brackley away I’ve been very happy with – Brackley at home was a disappointing one for us but the players have showed good character.
“We need to do that again Saturday, we have a big match against Oldham and we need to bounce back.
“To me we are progressing, no doubt about that.”
Oldham boss Lee Johnson is hoping his side can reproduce the form that has seen them go unbeaten in their last four games.
He told the club’s website: “They will be hurting because they got knocked out of the cup, we will be buzzing because we got through and there is an awkward balance in both teams and we need to make sure we continue the bite we have had in the last few games.
“We’ve had a break from the league and have done well. We’ve got to put a show on and get a result.”
The Gaffer – Lee Johnson
Lee, son of Yeovil Town boss Gary, took the managerial hot seat at Boundary Park in March of this year following the sacking of Paul Dickov.
He steered the club away from relegation and is now taking charge of his first full season as a Manager in the Football League.
As a player he came through the youth ranks at Arsenal before short spells at Watford and Brighton, where he scored his first goal in his only appearance for the club against Cardiff in the Football League Trophy.
He joined up with his father at Yeovil and enjoyed five good years at the club, achieving two promotions and winning `Player of the Year` three years running.
A spell at Hearts preceded another long stay at Bristol City, where Gary Johnson was again the Manager. In 2012 he joined Kilmarnock and made it to the Scottish Cup Final, but Celtic inflicted a 1-0 defeat.
Star Man – Adam Rooney
Danny Philliskirk is the club’s top goal scorer in all competitions at the moment, but Rooney is the danger man when it comes to scoring goals in the league.
He has four to his name so far, but will come in to the game with a lot of confidence having scored the winner against Wolves in the club’s FA Cup replay at Molineux on Tuesday evening.
One to Watch – James Dayton
The 24-year-old winger signed for the club in the summer from Kilmarnock and has made a great impression so far. He has six assists to his name in all competitions and has netted twice in his last four outings.
He started his career at Crystal Palace before accepting a position in the Glenn Hoddle Academy. Spells at Yeovil and Crawley preceded his move to the SPL side in 2010.
Oldham – the season so far
The Lactics come in to the game at MEMS Priestfield Stadium having had a slight upturn in form. They defeated Wolves in their FA Cup first round replay on Tuesday night at Molineux, and had a terrific result the week prior in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy after defeating Notts County 5-1 at Boundary Park.
Oldham took a while to get their league season going – winning just two of their first 11 matches, but travel to Kent with a four game unbeaten run.
Lee Johnson’s side remain in two cup competitions, their reward for beating Notts County is a home tie against Chesterfield in the Northern Area Semi Finals of the JPT, while in the FA Cup they await the visit of non-league Mansfield Town on December 7.
Oldham were knocked out in the first round of the Capital One Cup after a 1-0 home defeat to Derby in August.
They are currently 18th in the Sky Bet League One table.
Previous Meetings:
The last time the two sides met was at Boundary Park in April 2010 when a second half goal from Lewis Guy was enough to secure all three points for the home side.
The Gills have only tasted victory against Oldham once in our last nine games, that coming in November 2009 when Curtis Weston’s penalty sealed victory at MEMS Priestfield Stadium.
In total the clubs have met on 39 occasions – Oldham have won 19 of these games, Gills have won 16, and the other four have resulted in a draw.
Current Form (last six games in all competitions)
Gills: WLWDWL (9 points)
Oldham: WLDDWW (4 points)
Betting:
The Gills contest their first of two home games in the space of four days with Stevenage travelling to Priestfield on Tuesday evening, and if you fancy Peter Taylor’s side to get all three points against the Lactics then you can get odds of 11/1 for the hosts to seal a 2-0 win.
For John Mousinho to score first you can get a return of 14/1, and for Cody McDonald to score first and the Gills win 3-1, Sky Bet are offering you 70/1!
Click here for more great odds from Sky Bet.
Officials:
Referee – Graham Scott
Assistants - Ashvin Degnarain and Craig Hicks
Fourth Official - Carl Brook