Wrexham will be looking to boost their League Two title hopes when they travel to Priestfield to take on playoff hopefuls Gillingham on Saturday afternoon.
The two teams meet for the first time since mid-November when the Dragons secured a 2-0 victory over the Gills at the Racecourse Ground.
Match preview
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Three days after suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat away against Newport County, Gillingham managed to hold leaders Stockport County to a cagey goalless draw on home soil on Tuesday night.
Both sides lacked a cutting edge in the final third as they only registered one shot on target each throughout the 90 minutes, and while the Gills can take some positives from the stalemate, they have now won only one of their last seven league matches.
Such form needs to change for the better if Stephen Clemence's men are to mount a serious push for the playoffs in the final third of the campaign; Gillingham currently sit eighth in the League Two table and level on points with Harrogate Town in seventh, while they are five points adrift of sixth-placed Barrow.
Gillingham enter Saturday's contest having not lost any of their last five home games, although each of their last four have ended as draws, while their only victory in their last seven league matches at Priestfield was a slender 1-0 success over basement club Sutton United at the end of December.
The Gills will reminisce about the last time that they welcomed Wrexham to Priestfield back in October 1999 when they secured a thumping 5-1 win under former boss Peter Taylor when both clubs were competing in the third tier.
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Wrexham were unable to follow up back-to-back wins over Sutton and Notts County with another three points, as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at MK Dons on Tuesday night.
James McClean's 22nd-minute opener was cancelled out just four minutes later by Daniel Kemp, before both sides were reduced to 10 men in the second half, with MK Dons veteran Dean Lewington receiving his marching orders before William Boyle was dismissed for two bookable offences.
Nevertheless, Phil Parkinson's side did not lose any ground on their title rivals as each of the top 11 teams in League Two remarkably failed to win their most recent match, leaving Wrexham in third spot and just three points behind leaders Stockport who have played a game more.
While the Dragons have had plenty of success at the Racecourse Ground this season, accumulating more home points (38) than any other League Two team, their away form leaves a little to be desired as they have only won five of their 16 fourth-tier fixtures on the road, surprisingly scoring just 15 goals in the process – only Sutton (13) have scored fewer away goals in the division.
Three of Wrexham's next four league games are away from home, and they head into Saturday's clash with Gillingham having lost their last two visits to Priestfield by an aggregate score of 9-1.
Team News
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Gillingham are set to be without injured quartet Jorge Cabezas Hurtado (knee), Dom Jefferies (thigh), George Lapslie and new signing Josh Andrews (hamstring), while goalkeeper Jake Turner will be assessed after sustaining a knock in midweek.
Teenage striker Joe Gbode has been recalled from his loan at National League South side Aveley to bolster Clemence's squad, but he is unlikely to be selected in attack ahead of either Jayden Clarke, Josh Walker, Ashley Nadesan or Oliver Hawkins, who recovered from illness to make a substitute outing against Stockport.
As for Wrexham, Parkinson has confirmed that midfield duo George Evans and James Jones are facing prolonged periods on the sidelines due to injury, while Stephen Fletcher has emerged as a doubt after missing the midweek draw with MK Dons.
However, Elliott Lee should be fit to return to the starting lineup and will likely link arms with Andy Cannon and Luke Young in the middle of the pitch, allowing McClean to move over to left wing-back.
The absence of the suspended Boyle should see Ben Tozer – who scored in the reverse fixture against Gillingham – return to the back three alongside Max Cleworth and Eoghan O'Connell, while Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer will be pushing to start in attack ahead of Jack Marriott and Sam Dalby.
Gillingham possible starting lineup:
Turner; Hutton, Masterson, Ehmer, Ogie, Clark; Dieng, Coleman, Williams; Nadesan, Hawkins
Wrexham possible starting lineup:
Okonkwo; Cleworth, O'Connell, Tozer; Bolton, Young, Cannon, Lee, McClean; Mullin, Palmer
We say: Gillingham 1-2 Wrexham
Both teams will be keen to return to winning ways after playing out draws in midweek, but taking into account Wrexham's attacking threat and their victory in the reverse fixture, we believe that the Dragons will do just enough to claim maximum points on their travels.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
