Gills are back on the road this weekend as Steve Evans prepares to face former club Peterborough United.
PETERBOROUGH v GILLINGHAM
Weston Homes Stadium
Sky Bet League 1
Saturday January 11
Kick off, 3pm
Team News:
Gillingham travel to Peterborough on Saturday looking to extend their unbeaten run to seven games in League One. Gills are likely to be without Matty Willock as he steps up his recovery from injury, however despite assisting a goal in the midweek Kent Senior Cup tie at Bromley, Saturday could come too soon for his league return.
Manager Steve Evans could hand new Loanee signing Jordan Roberts a start after he joined the Kent Club from Ipswich on Thursday whilst Olly Lee also extended his stay at ME7 until the end of the season.
One player who won’t be featuring for the Gills is Mikael Ndjoli who returned to parent club Bournemouth on Thursday after completing his loan spell at the club. Striker Mikael Mandron could be recalled after missing the FA Cup fixture for personal reasons.
Peterborough could hand first team debuts to new signings Jack Taylor and Reece Brown after securing the double signing this week. Frazer Blake-Tracy is back in contention after injury, however Josh Knight and Nathan Thompson are missing through injury whilst Siriki Dembele serves the second of a three match ban.
Manager Comments:
Gillingham Manager Steve Evans: “We know it will be tough for us but we know the rewards. When the fixtures came out, nobody expected us to be going to Peterborough on January 11 with the chance to draw level with them in the table.
“The task will be difficult, but we are not going to go there and lie down, are we? We are going to fight, scrap and kick and do what it takes to get a result."
Peterborough Manager Darren Ferguson said “Gillingham will be a tough nut to crack. They are in good form, albeit their home form is better than their away form. I watched their game with West Ham and they did well for long spells on a difficult surface. Our home form has been good, we need to get back to that after a disappointing period over Christmas and the New Year."
Previous Meetings:
Gillingham will be looking for their first win over Peterborough since 2017 when they meet on Saturday. A 35th minute goal from Lee Martin secured the win that day at London Road but since the Gills have suffered three defeats and one draw.
When the two sides met at MEMS Priestfield Stadium in October it was the Posh who secured a 2-1 win with Josh Ward and Mo Eisa seizing control of the game before the Gills halved the arrears in the 80th minute thanks to Mikael Mandron.
Odds:
Gillingham win – 23/10
Draw – 9/4
Peterborough win – 23/20
Special Bet: Gillingham to win 2-1 – 11/1.
Officials:
Referee - Kevin Johnson
Assistant Referee 1 - Christopher Wade
Assistant Referee 2 - Conor Farrell
Fourth Official - Lisa Rashid
SAT NAV: PE2 8AL