The club's new manager, Neil Harris, will take charge of Gillingham for the first time ahead of Crewe's visit to ME7.
Gillingham v Crewe Alexandra
Sky Bet League One
MEMS Priestfield Stadium
Tuesday February 1st
Kick-Off, 7.45pm
Team News:
Neil Harris will be without his newest signing, Ben Thompson, who was not registered in time to play in Tuesday’s game at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium.
Vadaine Oliver should return after missing games last week due to the birth of his child. QPR loanee, Conor Masterson, could make his Gills debut, having been on the bench at the weekend. Kyle Dempsey will be unavailable after he left for Bolton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee on deadline day.
Christian Maghoma will be available for selection after his loan at Eastleigh ended.
Crewe defender Zac Williams will miss Tuesday’s fixture due to an illness, which also kept him out of the game against Rotherham at the weekend. There is no confirmation as to whether Rekeem Harper will be available to feature after his deadline day loan move to the Railwaymen.
Manager Comments:
Neil Harris - “It’s about building for the future, not just for a football match tonight. Yes, we need results quickly but it's about the long-term as well and that’s what sold it to me.
“We all need each other and we all need to be together. It’s not overnight success, but it’s about building and putting the positivity back in the group.”
Kenny Lunt - “We want to go there and win. We’ve got players to come into the team from Saturday. Hopefully we will go there and get the three points, as they will be as important as any three points that we can get.”
Previous Meetings:
The last meeting at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium was a good one for the Gills. Jordan Graham, Olly Lee and Kyle Dempsey all scored to give the hosts a 3-0 lead. Lee grabbed his second midway through the second half as his header looped over a hapless Dave Richards. Chris Porter got a goal back with ten minutes to go, but it proved to be a consolation as Gills cruised to a 4-1 victory.
A memorable Gills home win over Crewe came during the 2003/04 season. Paul Shaw put Gills in front in the 64th minute, and Danny Spiller doubled that lead just six minutes later as his diving header found the back of the net. Current Crewe coach Kenny Lunt was shown his marching orders in the game due to scuffle with Andy Hessenthaler.
Ticket Information:
|PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS FOR NEIL HARRIS’ FIRST GAME IN CHARGE HERE|
Odds:
Gillingham win - 11/8
Draw - 9/4
Crewe Alexandra win - 15/8
Special Bet: Charlie Kelman to score first and Gillingham to win 2-1 - 35/1.
Match Officials:
Referee - Declan Drysdale
Assistants - Conor Farrell and Anthony Da Costa
Fourth Official - Stuart Butler
iFollow:
Tuesday’s fixture will be available to watch on iFollow for the one off price of just £10! BBC Radio Kent will provide full commentary for the fixture. Match graphics and live replays will be supplied by the team at EFL Digital.
