Fleetwood Town will welcome Gillingham to Highbury Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Sky Bet League One, and we have all you need to know in our preview.
Fixture: Fleetwood Town v Gillingham
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Saturday 2nd March 2019
Kick-Off: 15:00
Venue: Highbury Stadium, Park Avenue, Fleetwood, FY7 6TX
Match officials: Neil Hair (Referee), Simon Clayton & Mark Cunliffe (Assistants), Philip Dermott (Fourth Official)
FLEETWOOD TOWN
Last five results in all competitions: W L W W L
League position: 8th with 48 points.
Club’s top goal scorer: Paddy Madden (18 goals all competitions)
Fleetwood Town sit in 8th place in the league and have only lost two of their last eight league matches, with the latest result being a hard fought 1-0 victory over Nigel Clough’s Burton Albion.
Ashley Nadesan scored his first goal for the club after three years with a lovely timed finish after Paddy Madden’s cross from the left wing. A goal which will only give the young striker confidence going forward, with Town looking to push for a play-off place.
Harry Souttar has been a key figure in Joey Barton’s side since his arrival in January, and since the 20-year-old has come in, he has played in four games and kept three clean sheets. A record I am sure he will like to continue against Gillingham.
GILLINGHAM
Last five results in all competitions: W L W L D
League position: 18th with 39 points
Top goal scorer: Tom Eaves (17 goals in all competitions)
Gillingham picked up all three points in their last fixture in League One and that was 1-0 victory over Wycombe Wanderers. Regan Charles-Cook scored the only goal of the game, seven minutes from the end.
With a 4-2 defeat away at former Premier League side Sunderland a few weeks back, and a win against Scunthorpe at Priestfield, the club have only won 2 out of their last eight matches.
Steve Lovell’s side do sit five points above the relegation zone, and have important games coming up against Oxford, Rochdale and AFC Wimbledon in their next five matches.
Last time the two sides met
On the 3rd November, the two sides met at the Priestfield Stadium in a match where Tom Eaves scored a double as Gillingham continued their revival with a victory over Joey Barton’s Fleetwood.
Brandon Hanlan scored the opening goal after intercepting a back pass and slotted the ball home, with Eaves then showing his threats inside the box with two well taken goals.
Paddy Madden rattled the crossbar with eight minutes left with a crisp volley before the striker fired over right at the death.
One To Watch: Tom Eaves
With 17 goals to his name this season (16 being in the league), Tom Eaves is the player Fleetwood should be wary of this Saturday. Striker Eaves scored his last goal in the 4-2 defeat at the Stadium of Light.
Eaves was a product of the famed Crewe Alexandra academy, and he began his professional career with Oldham Athletic before signing for Bolton Wanderers in 2010.
However, Eaves only made four appearances in his six year spell at the Macron Stadium, with management opting to loan him out, with spells at Bristol Rovers, Shrewsbury, Rotherham, Yeovil and Bury.
He signed permanently for Gillingham in the summer of 2017, and has made 75 appearances for the Gills, whilst scoring 32 goals in the league alone for the club.
JOEY BARTON
“We’ve got to focus on winning our next game which is Gillingham on Saturday, A side with slightly different aims to us this season but also very important aims for them which is their survival in this division for next season.
“We lost down their 3-0, albeit I felt we played a certain way and we are looking forwards to the challenge and putting right our biggest defeat of the season.
“I’m really, really looking forwards to the game tomorrow. We know it will be a tough game because they are down there fighting for their lives at the bottom but also we feel we have got a little bit of a wrong to right, we are looking forward to exercising that kind of demon.”
STEVE LOVELL
“It will be a very tough game, but they all are now. Ultimately we want to get as high up the league as we can; March is a massive month for a lot of teams.
“There are some big games coming up and with a good little run we could move up the league quite quickly.
“We have six home and six away left. This time last year we were a little bit ahead of where we are now regarding points but we had a dodgy March last year, picking up just three or four points and that can happen.”
Ticket information
Fleetwood Town fans still have time to purchase their tickets ahead of Saturday’s match against Gillingham. The Cod Army will be looking for a reaction on home turf after losing last time out to the league leaders, Gillingham.
It is also Grassroots Day at Highbury, where over 500 young inspiring players are bound for the terraces behind the goal, which really should
Adults – Starting from £24
Senior / Under 25s – Starting from £15
Under 16s – Starting from £5
For more information about the fixture, or to purchase tickets, supporters can call 01253 775080, or visit the club shop at Highbury Stadium.
BETTING ODDS
If you fancy Fleetwood Town to get three points against Gillingham at Highbury this weekend, you can get odds of 17/20.
Steve Lovell’s side are currently 3/1 to pick up the point on the Fylde Coast, with a draw being priced at 5/2.
For Fleetwood to win 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2 against the Gills, the odds are 11/2.
The special price boost for this game is that if Fleetwood win the game, but both teams score, the odds are now at 7/2.
There are more odds on the official Sky Bet website HERE. Please bet and gamble responsibly.