Stephen Clemence will leave it until the last possible moment to see if Jake Turner is available for selection for the visit of Wrexham.
The Red Dragons visit Priestfield as the Gills look to build on the recent draw with league leaders, Stockport County.
Having secured a point in a solid performance versus Stockport County midweek, The Gills face another tough test this weekend as Wrexham make the trip to ME7 looking to consolidate their current position in the automatic promotion league positions.
Stephen Clemence’s Gills will also have their eyes on a place in the top seven heading into the latter part of the season, and with a heavily congested top half of the League Two table, the Head Coach and his squad will know that a positive run of results now will help cement their position in the Play-Off positions.
Gillingham v Wrexham AFC
Priestfield Stadium
Sky Bet League Two
Saturday February 24
Kick-Off, 3pm
Team News:
There’s been a growing list of injuries for Stephen Clemence and Robbie Stockdale to contend with over the past couple of weeks.
Dom Jefferies continues to recover from a thigh injury and will remain out of contention for several weeks. Jorge Hurtado is unavailable for selection and is due to have surgery, having suffered a knee injury in training.
Josh Andrews will not be available to make his Gills debut against Wrexham this weekend having been substituted during a midweek friendly with Brentford. The forward is awaiting results of a scan.
George Lapslie will be unavailable to face Wrexham having suffered a hamstring injury, but should not be out for an extended period.
Jake Turner did not train on Thursday after suffering a knock to his hip in Tuesday’s game against Stockport. He will continue to be assessed ahead of kick-off this weekend. Glenn Morris is ready to step in if needed.
As for Wrexham, Ryan Barnett has returned from injury and is likely to make the travelling party. Will Boyle is suspended however and will sit out as a result, meaning Ben Tozer is the most probable replacement.
Will Evans and James Jones' injuries are thought to be worse than first feared, they will not feature at the weekend.
Manager Comments:
Stephen Clemence: “For us it’s another game, it’s one we’ll be looking forward too and we’ll be looking to go and win it.
“It will be two good teams, but we’ll have to make sure we offer a threat to them, but at the same time, they’ve got incredible squad depth, a lot of good players, so we’ll have to bring our A-Game this weekend.
“Wrexham have played the same sort of system all season, I think it will be a physical and competitive game, we’ll have to defend our box well, but I think they’ll have to defend theirs too."
Phil Parkinson: "I so pleased with the group. They are great to work with and we are going to keep driving on.
"We are going to give it everything we have got to try and get in that top-three come the end of the season.
"I still think there's players with a bit more to come, I really do.
"But we have got players who are big-match players and historically they produce when it matters the most."
Previous Meeting:
Gillingham travelled to The Racecourse back in November 2023 for the reverse fixture of the current Sky Bet League Two campaign.
Stephen Clemence took charge of his first league game as Gills Head Coach but it didn't get off to a good start when Ollie Clarke netted within the first 45 seconds.
The Gills had chances to level the score, notably through Shad Ogie, whose close range strike later in the first half went just wide of the post. Claims for a legitimate handball against Wrexham were also waved away by the officials on the day.
Wrexham doubled their lead with 71 minutes on the clock. A well worked passage of play freeing Jacob Mendy on the left wing, his cross converted by an unmarked Ben Tozer.
Head-To-Head:
Gillingham – 9
Draw – 8
Wrexham – 17
Wrexham dominate the statistics with 16 league wins over the course of history, to Gillingham’s 9 league wins. An FA Cup encounter in December 1936, saw this weekend’s visitors to Priestfield progress in the cup with a 2-0 win over the Gills.
Ticket Information:
Tickets for our match versus Wrexham AFC are now completely sold out.
Supporters who have pre-purchased their tickets online will be able to collect their tickets from the Fan Engagement Centre, located in the club shop. There will be no additional tickets available, however.
Odds:
Gillingham – 7/4
Draw – 23/10
Wrexham – 7/5
Special Bet: Jonny Williams to score at any time – 9/2
Match Officials:
Referee – Scott Simpson
Assistants – Hugh Gilroy & David Harrison
Fourth Official – Adrian Tranter
Sat Nav: ME7 2PE