Preview: Gillingham vs. Crewe Alexandra - prediction, team news, lineups

Gillingham square off against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday afternoon looking to move clear of the League Two relegation zone.

At a time when the home side sit 10 points clear of the bottom two, Crewe are in eighth place in the table after a poor run of form.

Match preview

© Imago

There was a time not so long ago when Crewe were sitting pretty in the upper echelons of the table, helped by losing just once in 18 games.

However, Lee Bell is facing a battle to keep his side in the race for automatic promotion after a run of five fixtures without success.

Just two points have been accumulated during that time, while only three victories have been registered across a 12-match stretch.

Although a couple of wins in the short term will change the promotion picture, suffering back-to-back 3-0 defeats to Newport County and AFC Wimbledon suggests that turning things around will be easier said than done.

Furthermore, Crewe have posted just two away wins since the start of November, albeit still having lost just four times in 16 such fixtures.

Meanwhile, Gillingham are hoping that John Coleman will eventually make the desired impact after a disappointing start to life at the club.

Three points have been collected from his opening six games as manager, with Gillingham having now gone 10 matches without a win in the fourth tier.

On a positive note, however, Gillingham earned a 1-1 draw at leaders Walsall in midweek, edging the club further clear of the bottom two.

The Gills have lost seven of their 14 league games at the Priestfield Stadium this season, including the last three.

Team News

© Imago

Coleman may be prepared to select the same Gillingham XI from Tuesday unless he prioritises fresh legs.

If a change is made, Jack Nolan is most likely to be restored in the final third ahead of Dominic Corness.

Chelsea loanee Jimmy-Jay Morgan is also an option in attack despite still searching for his first Gillingham goal.

With Jamie Knight-Lebel suspended due to his sending off against AFC Wimbledon, Lewis Billington could be introduced to the Crewe defence.

Max Sanders may also be recalled in the centre of midfield for his 27th league start of the campaign.

Gillingham possible starting lineup: Morris; Smith, Ehmer, Gale; Hutton, McKenzie, Little, Clark; Corness; Nevitt, Gbode

Crewe Alexandra possible starting lineup: Marschall; Cooney, Billington, O'Riordan, Williams, Conway; Tabiner, Powell, Sanders, Holicek; Tracey

We say: Gillingham 1-2 Crewe Alexandra

With both teams on five-match winless streaks, this is a difficult match to call. Although Crewe will have concerns regarding suffering another defeat and subsequently losing further ground, we feel they are the marginal favourites to come through with the three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.