Gills on the road for the first fixture of 2019.
SOUTHEND UNITED V GILLINGHAM
Roots Hall
Sky Bet League One
Tuesday January 1st, 2019
Kick-off, 3pm.
Team News:
Having come on as a half-time substitute in the 3-1 defeat to Doncaster, top scorer Tom Eaves will be back in contention to start at Roots Hall.
Barry Fuller and Dean Parrett were both forced off through injury during the Doncaster game and manager Steve Lovell confirmed that they will more than likely miss Tuesday’s game. Regan Charles-Cook was left out of the match day squad as a precaution and Lovell is hopeful he will return on Tuesday.
Max Ehmer will definitely miss the game as he continues to recover from a dislocated shoulder.
Southend defenders Jason Demetriou and Harry Lennon (ex-Gills) will miss the game through injury. Goalkeeper Neal Bishop is likely to continue in goal as Mark Oxley deals with a back problem. Forward Harry Bunn will be in contention to start having come off the bench in the 1-0 defeat to Coventry.
Manager Comments:
Steve Lovell - “I’m going to mix it up again on Tuesday.
“I think there are players out there who look a little bit jaded, and we have players in the squad who have been waiting to have an opportunity. I thought Luke O’Neill did well when he went on [against Donny], he was very bright down the right-hand side and I thought Billy Bingham did well too.”
Chris Powell - “I’ve had a home game last season and the away game this year [against Gillingham] and I’ve done okay against them, and I want to do that again, so we’ll see. They’ve lost on Saturday so they’ll be looking to bounce back so it’ll be quite a lively game and let’s hope 2019 starts in our favour.”
Previous Meetings:
Southend won the reverse fixture 2-0 in October thanks to a quick brace from Simon Cox at Priestfield.
The Gills last visit to Roots Hall ended badly as The Shrimpers ran out 4-0 winners with skipper Lee Martin sent off in the process. The last time the two sides played on New Year’s Day was in 2013 as Martin Allen’s team ran out 1-0 victors thanks to an early Chris Whelpdale goal.
Odds:
Southend win- 10/11
Draw- 12/5
Gillingham win- 14/5
Special bet: Gillingham to win both halves- 14/1.
For more odds and markets visit www.skybet.com/fl72.
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Match Officials:
Referee: Keith Stroud
Assistant Referees: Geoffrey Russell and Adrian Waters
Fourth Official: Lloyd Wood