Neil Harris is likely to make changes to his starting XI for the visit of Exeter in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
Gillingham v Exeter City
Carabao Cup
MEMS Priestfield Stadium
Tuesday August 23
Kick-Off, 7.45pm
Team News:
Neil Harris is expected to make changes after the 0-0 draw against Walsall on Saturday. Olly Lee, who was on the bench for the game due to illness, could start against Exeter. Jake Turner may get the nod in goal with Lewis Walker, Alex MacDonald, David Tutonda and Scott Kashket also pushing for a starting role.
The game could come too soon for Shaun Williams and Dom Jefferies as they continue to recover from respective injuries. Matty Macarthur and Joe Gbode could be involved in the matchday squad.
Pierce Sweeney could come back into the squad for Exeter after missing Saturday’s defeat to Cheltenham. Matt Taylor could rotate his starting XI on Tuesday with the likes of Scott Brown, Josh Coley and Sonny Cox all in with a chance of starting.
Manager Comments:
Neil Harris - “I’m fully aware that they won 7-0 in the last round away from home, so I’ll take my time to look at them and have a think about formations and how we’re going to affect them on Tuesday.”
Matt Taylor- “They’ll go for us, which will hopefully allow us to play our type of football.
“We’ll have to withstand a different type of challenge, but one we will look forward to.”
Previous Meetings:
The two clubs last met in November 2020 in the FA Cup Second Round. Exeter were victorious on the day as they came away from the MEMS Priestfield Stadium with a 3-2 win.
Vadaine Oliver gave Gills the lead in the 21st minute. Alex MacDonald won the ball inside the Exeter penalty area and squared it across the box to the unmarked forward to slot into the back of the net.
Exeter turned the game on its head as they scored three goals in 11 first-half minutes. Nicky Law equalised in the 29th minute before Joel Randall scored twice in five minutes as the visitors were 3-1 up before the interval.
Dominic Samuel got a goal back with ten minutes to go as he managed to volley home from six yards after Exeter failed to deal with Jordan Graham’s cross. Jack Bonham almost scored a last-gasp equaliser with the last kick of the game, but his half volley went just over the crossbar.
Ticket Information:
Tickets for Tuesday’s game are available here. Gills fans can purchase online, over the phone or in person up until kick-off by popping into our main ticket office on Redfern Avenue.
Away supporters can buy online up until the start of the game via the away ticket portal which opposition clubs are given access to.
TICKETS | GILLS VS EXETER CITY
Odds:
Gillingham win - 11/5
Draw - 23/10
Exeter City win - 23/20
Special Bet: Elkan Baggott to score first and Gillingham to win 2-1 - 260/1.
Match Officials:
Referee - Carl Brook
Assistants - Daniel Cook and Nicholas Cooper
Fourth Official - Craig Hicks