Preview: Gillingham v Wycombe

Wycombe Wanderers travel to Gillingham tomorrow for another festive League Two fixture.


The Gills are currently 11th in League Two with 33 points from 22 games, 12 points behind leaders Wycombe Wanderers.

Relegated last season, Gillingham have had mixed fortunes so far in their quest for a quick return to League One.

They have only lost once at Priestfield and have the third best home record in the division (Wycombe are 4th). Gillingham's only defeat on their own turf came in their first home game of the campaign way back in August when they went down 1-0 to Luton Town.

The Gills have however found life difficult on the road and have only won twice. Their worst awayday experience so far was losing 7-0 to Shrewsbury Town in September. I can't imagine how that must have felt for their fans.

Gillingham are without a league win since 6th December and in their last 3 games they have drawn with both Barnet and Brentford before losing 2-0 at Dagenham on Boxing Day.

They have scored 31 league goals (22 at home) and have conceded 32 (only 6 at home).

13 different players have scored for Gillingham in all competitions and their top marksman is Simeon Jackson with 11 goals to his name. The on-loan Andy Barcham comes next with 5 goals but he is not available for selection against Wycombe on Sunday.



Wycombe Wanderers are 7 points clear at the top of League Two with 45 points from 22 games.

With only 5 points from their last four games, the Chairboys are not quite firing on all cylinders at the moment but are seemingly doing enough to maintain a healthy lead at the top of the table. In recent encounters, their first defeat of the season at Aldershot was followed by home draws against Luton and Exeter with a crucial win at Shrewsbury sandwiched in between. Wycombe can however boast the best away record in the division.

Wycombe have scored 30 league goals (12 away from home) and have conceded 12 (5 away from home).

12 different players have scored for Wycombe in all competitions and the top scorer is Matt Harrold with 9 goals. Next highest scorer is Chris Zebroski who had found the net 6 times before his enforced absence through injury.


Current League Form

Last Five League Games
Gillingham: DWDDL - 6 points
Wycombe: WLDWD - 8 points


Last Five Home Games
Gillingham: WWDWD - 11 points


Last Five Away Games
Wycombe: WDWLW - 10 points



Previous Meetings at Gillingham

1932/33 FACup: Gillingham 1 Wycombe 1
1993/94 Lg Two: Gillingham 0 Wycombe 1
1995/96 FACup: Gillingham 1 Wycombe 0
1996/97 Lg One: Gillingham 1 Wycombe 0
1997/98 Lg One: Gillingham 1 Wycombe 0
1998/99 Lg One: Gillingham 3 Wycombe 0
1999/00 Lg One: Gillingham 2 Wycombe 2
2005/06 FLTphy: Gillingham 2 Wycombe 2



Ref Watch

The referee for this game is Mr. R. Booth

Mr. Booth was in charge of Wycombe's 1-0 win at Grimsby last season and didn't issue any cards. So far this term he has only refereed one game, Burnley's 2-1 win at Bristol City in the Championship and yet again he kept his cards in his pocket.



Team News

Mike Williamson is doubtful with a groin injury.

Lewis Hunt is doubtful with a foot injury suffered against Exeter yesterday.

Chris Zebroski is expected to remain sidelined with the injury he picked up at Eastwood Town.

The Gills have lots of selection problems with Barry Fuller and Mark Bentley suspended, Andy Barcham unavailable for selection and both Mark McCammon and Luis Cumbers out injured.



The difficult games just keep coming for Wycombe and this time it's against a side that haven't lost a league game at home since August. With Sunday's clash coming so soon after Boxing day it would be no surprise to see Peter Taylor rotate his squad a little for this one, particularly in the midfield area.

Prediction

Gillingham 1 Wycombe 1


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