Steve Evans has hinted he will make changes as Gills prepare to lock horns with Crewe at ME7.
Gillingham v Crewe Alexandra
Sky Bet League One
MEMS Priestfield Stadium
Tuesday January 26
Kick-Off, 6pm
Team News:
Centre-back Robbie Cundy will be available for selecton having joined the club on loan from Bristol City on Monday.
Steve Evans could make changes to his starting eleven with the fixture list beginning to congest. John Akinde could be one man to start having scored the dramatic equaliser against Rochdale, with Matty Willock also pushing for a start.
Crewe signed Antony Evans on loan from Paderborn, and he could feature at Priestfield. Stephen Walker has also returned to Crewe on loan and may start having been named on the bench for Saturday’s draw at AFC Wimbledon.
David Artell will be hoping that he has former-Gills striker Mikael Mandron, Harry Pickering and Daniel Powell available to him after they all missed Saturday’s game.
Manager Comments:
Steve Evans - “The smart teams find a way to deal with Crewe. We need to come up with a game plan to deal with them on Tuesday. They are long unbeaten; a terrific side with brilliant individual players.
“I’ve watched them in closed door games and pre-season as well. Me and Paul Raynor have studied a lot of footage before we went up there last time we played.
“David Artell is a good young manager; he has been brilliant at Crewe. They keep the ball and pass it well; we will work hard to stop that or it will be a long night for us.”
John Akinde - “We are aware of how Crewe play and their strengths and weaknesses. We are looking forward it.
“When we played them earlier in the season they did have a lot of chances but we came away with the points. We want to do the same again.”
David Artell - “We have to be better at the start of halves and that comes from me, the staff and players. It is a collective thing to make sure we are prepared better. We have to make sure that we are ready and the buck stops with me as the manager.
“We can all help with that. The words and actions I have before they go out have an influence and an impact and I have to make sure they are ready between the ears, as well as physically and tactically.
“It is one challenge that we have to all improve on because we have conceded some early goals that have proved costly when it comes to getting three points.”
Previous Meetings:
03/11/2020 - Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Gillingham - Sky Bet League One
12/03/2016 - Gillingham 3-0 Crewe Alexandra - Sky Bet League One
17/10/2015 - Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Gillingham - Sky Bet League One
10/01/2015 - Crewe Alexandra 3-1 Gillingham - Sky Bet League One
30/08/2014 - Gillingham 2-0 Crewe Alexandra - Sky Bet League One
The last meeting between the two sides came in November earlier this season. John Akinde scored the only goal of the game as Gills ended a five-game losing streak.
The last game at the MEMS Priestfield stadium occurred in 2016, and Gills were victorious 3-0. Dominic Samuel opened the scoring that day as Gillingham controlled the game throughout.
Crewe leads the head-to-head with 22 wins to 21, and there have also been eight draws with the last one coming in 2011. Curtis Weston scored during the 1-1 draw that day.
Odds:
Gillingham win - 9/4
Draw - 5/2
Crewe win - 21/20
Special Bet: John Akinde to score first and Gillingham to win 3-2 - 110/1.
Match Officials:
Referee: Alan Young
Assistants: Darren Blunden and Garry Maskell
Fourth Official: Robert Whitton
iFollow:
Gills season ticket holders can watch the game completely free of charge provided the email address used to access the iFollow platform matches the one on the club database. If you are not sure which email is registered then please contact us on ticketoffice@priestfield.com.
Once logged in, access the match centre approximately half an hour before kick-off and you should be able to click a "Watch Now" icon which will give you the feed to the live pictures. Just before kick-off you should also receive audio from BBC Radio Kent.
For more information on the change to the iFollow system, click here.
If you are not a season ticket holder then you can watch the game for a one off fee of £10! Click the below graphic to process your video match pass order.
