Preview: Sutton United vs. Gillingham - prediction, team news, lineups

Gillingham will be looking to get themselves off the foot of the League Two table when they make the journey to Borough Sports Ground to face Sutton United on Thursday night.

The hosts are currently midtable, and head into the game on the back of a victory on Boxing Day.

Match preview

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Sutton United have had a mixed season to this point which is reflected by the fact they are 15th in the table right now with eight victories, five draws, and 10 defeats so far.

However, Matt Gray's team are heading into the midweek encounter on the back of a victory on Monday as they defeated Crawley Town 2-1.

Second-half goals from Joe Kizzi and Rob Milsom were enough to secure the three points, which brought them straight back to winning ways following a defeat at the hands of Leyton Orient.

Sutton United will take confidence from the fact they have been far stronger at home throughout this campaign, having only lost three league games at the Borough Sports Ground.

Despite that, the Yellows did lose the reverse fixture earlier this season which is something they will be wanting to put behind them on Thursday.

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Gillingham have only won two games so far, making the previous encounter between these two teams an important one in their season.

The Gills left things extremely late in that one though, as Alex MacDonald broke the deadlock in the 91st minute to create the 1-0 result.

Neil Harris is yet to see his team win a single match on the road though, which is something they will need to change sooner than later to aid their fight against relegation.

Gillingham currently prop up the table, and despite the fact they only have two victories to this point they are only three points from complete safety.

It puts extra pressure on Thursday's game as a win would potentially push them out of the relegation zone, which could be an ideal boost before the New Year.

Team News

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After both of Sutton's goals on Boxing Day came from defenders, Gray will be hoping to see more from his attacking options in midweek to replicate that result.

However, the hosts will likely continue to be without Coby Rowe who has been injured for the previous seven matches, which the squad is having to deal with.

MacDonald was only used as a substitute for the visitors earlier in the week, but considering his goal was the difference between these teams earlier in the season he might be an option Harris considers from the start this time around.

Stuart O'Keefe was able to overcome a knock to feature in the last two performances which has provided a boost to the midfield that Gillingham has to offer.

Sutton United possible starting lineup:

Rose; Boldewijn, Kizzi, John, Milsom; Neufville, Eastmond, Smith, Randall; Bugiel, Wilson

Gillingham possible starting lineup:

Turner; Alexander, Wright, Ehmer, McKenzie; Jefferies, Williams; Green, Adelakun, MacDonald; Mandron

We say: Sutton United 2-0 Gillingham

Gillingham will take some confidence into this game considering they won the reverse fixture earlier this season, but this is still going to be a tough test.

The visitors have not gained three points on the road yet in the 2022-23 campaign, and that is unlikely to change on Thursday.

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