The Gills face Coventry City in Sky Bet League One on Saturday
Sky Bet League One
MEMS Priestfield Stadium
Saturday, September 24
3pm kick-off
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Brett Huxtable
Assistants: Ashvin Degnarain and Michael Webb
Fourth Official: Adam Crysell
Tony Mowbray’s Coventry City travel to the MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Saturday looking to pick up their first win of the League One season.
Tickets are still available for this much-anticipated match, and you can buy yours buy clicking here.
TEAM NEWS
Jonathan Bond has been ruled out for up to three weeks after being substituted in the early stages of the EFL Cup defeat at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, so Stuart Nelson is likely to reclaim the number one spot for the visit of the Sky Blues.
Long-term absentees Aaron Morris and Lee Martin remain unavailable, whereas Bradley Garmston is still out after a picking up a knee problem in pre-season.
Gills manager Justin Edinburgh believes that the players will have learned a lot from playing against Premier League opposition on Wednesday evening, but said the team’s main focus is now on the league.
“We’ve been beaten before and we’ll be beaten again,” said Edinburgh. “I’ve always said that it is about the reaction you show after you’ve been beaten; that’s a big sign of the character and the togetherness in the group, and that’s what we will be judged on come Saturday.”
Coventry come into the game rooted to the bottom of the table, but the manager believes it will be a tough test for his side.
“Anyone can beat anyone in this league and we have to be wary of that. It’s a big challenge and we are at home; we need to rediscover the consistency we had at the early part of the season and start winning football matches.”
THE OPPOSITION
Mowbray’s Sky Blues sit rock bottom of the Sky Bet League table, having not won any of the opening eight matches.
In their frustrating start to the season, City have scored just three goals, and conceded eight. Whilst both Gillingham and Coventry have both lost three games each, the latter haven’t been able to pick up three points on any occasion, drawing five matches.
Long-term absentees Chris Stokes and Andy Rose will miss the clash in Kent, but it is unclear whether Chris McCann will be fit for Saturday’s match.
"I think McCann is now very close but we have to monitor these players and make sure we don't bring them back into the fold too early,” said Mowbray.
LAST TIME WE MET
The last time the teams met was at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium back in April, when the Gills held on for a 0-0 draw, despite a late surge of pressure from the Sky Blues.
The teams have met 55 times in total, with the Gills winning 18, drawing 11 and losing 26.
FANCY A FLUTTER?
Gillingham win – 13/10
Draw – 23/10
Coventry win–21/10
For all the latest match odds visit Sky Bet.
MATCH COVERAGE
GillsPlayer will have live match commentary from 2.50pm with Ben Watts and Peter Lloyd. To subscribe, click here.
The GillsWall will have interactive text commentary of the match, and the club’s social media channels will be bringing you live updates throughout the day.
SATURDAY'S SKY BET LEAGUE ONE FIXTURES
Wimbledon v Shrewsbury
Bolton v Bradford
Bristol Rovers v Port Vale
Bury v Chesterfield
Fleetwood v MK Dons
Millwall v Rochdale
Northampton v Southend
Oldham v Swindon
Oxford Utd v Charlton
Peterborough v Walsall
Scunthorpe v Sheffield Utd