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Sport

Match preview: Bury v Gillingham (Saturday, 3pm at Gigg Lane)

By: Luke Cawdell lcawdell@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 14:00, 23 February 2018

Team news;

Captain Lee Martin is back in the starting XI for the Gills today.

Martin, who had been out injured, replaces Callum Reilly on midfield. Loan man Reilly is unable to play against his parent club.

Apart from Martin's inclusion, boss Steve Lovell has stuck with the same team that started in midweek against Shrewsbury.

Bury's Gigg Lane pitch heavily sanded for today's game against Gillingham

Coming into the matchday squad is Navid Nasseri. He has yet to feature for the Gills since signing.

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Bury start the match sitting bottom of League 1 and their pitch has been a talking point pre-match, heavily sanded but at least playable, with nearby Oldham calling their game off with a frozen surface.

Gillingham: Holy, O’Neill, Ogilvie, Nugent, Ehmer, Zakuani, Byrne, Hessenthaler, Martin, Parker, Eaves. Subs: Hadler, Garmston, List, Nasseri, Wagstaff, Moussa, Wilkinson.

Bury: Ripley, Leigh, Edwards, Ismail, Miller, O’Shea, Cameron, Ince, Danns, Bunn, Clarke. Subs: Murphy, Tutte, Thompson, Maguire, Dawson, Dai, Hanson.

Referee Darren Drysdale separates Josh Parker and Jacob Mellis when the sides last met at Gigg Lane Picture: Ady Kerry

Preview;

Gillingham will be hoping to maintain their impressive away form when they face Bury this weekend.

The Gills have lost just one of their last six on their travels, picking up a point away to second placed Shrewsbury on Tuesday night.

This weekend they face a side from the other end of League 1 with Bury going into the weekend 10 points from safety.

Head to head;

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Gills wins: 23 Draws: 11 Bury wins: 21

League Form;

Gillingham: D 1-1 Shrewsbury (a), D 0-0 Walsall (h), W 2-1 Northampton (a), D 1-1 Peterborough (a), L 0-2 Wigan (a), W 2-1 Fleetwood (h).

Bury: L 0-2 Blackburn (a), D 0-0 Southend (h), D 2-2 Bradford (a), W 2-1 AFC Wimbledon (h), D 1-1 Blackpool (h), W 2-1 Oxford (a).

Last meeting at Gigg Lane;

Bury 1 Gillingham 2

Cody McDonald celebrates after his goal proved to be the winner against Bury at Gigg Lane. Picture: Ady Kerry

Cody McDonald and Bradley Dack scored the goal for Gillingham as they won last season's contest.

Victory that day, in March, left the Gills six points clear of the drop zone.

Dack gave the Gills a 14th minute lead and then turned provider after the break as McDonald headed home his corner.

James Vaughan halved the deficit, with 15 minutes left, and the hosts twice hit the woodwork, but the Gills hung on.

Last time out;

Shrewsbury Town 1 Gillingham 1

Manager Steve Lovell with Gills' goalscorer Mark Byrne on Tuesday night Picture: Ady Kerry

A great finish from Mark Byrne late on ensured the Gills took a deserved point from their trip to Shrewsbury.

Victory for the hosts would have taken them back to the top of League 1, after Blackburn's win the day before knocked them off the summit.

Abu Ogogo put the hosts ahead early as they dominated the opening half.

But the Gills fought back in the second half, showing much more attacking intent, levelling with eight minutes left.

More on the Gills;

Reaction: Boss thrilled at second half fightback.

We deserved the point says goalscorer Byrne

Manager won't be reading anything into league positions

Team news;

Gills boss Steve Lovell felt his team looked tired in the goalless draw with Walsall, suggesting he might make changes for Shrewsbury.

But instead, he chose to stick with his same starting XI. It's anyone's guess what he will do this weekend.

Callum Reilly Picture: Ady Kerry

Lee Martin, back from a foot injury, is expected to be included from the off as loan man Callum Reilly hasn't permission to play against his parent club.

Alex Lacey is gradually nearing fully fitness but is unlikely to be included. Read about his progress from injury here.

From the opposition;

Defeat for Bury at Blackburn on Monday night ended a five-game unbeaten run for the Shakers.

That form has given fans hope of survival and boss Ryan Lowe - back in charge for the second time this season following Chris Luckett's sacking last month - will be hoping they can bounce back quickly from the 2-0 loss to Blackburn.

Lowe, who also had a spell in charge after Lee Clarke was dismissed in October, said: "We’ve got some good footballers and we've shown that.

"We’ve asked the lads to brush (the Blackburn loss) under the carpet because we need to look forward.

“We’ve got 13 vital games to play and if we can put together more runs like we just have done then hopefully we’ll be okay.

"We’ve just lost our unbeaten record and we want it back."

One to watch - George Miller;

Twenty-year-old striker George Miller is back where it all began.

He rejoined the club, on loan, from Middlesbrough, who snapped him up back in 2017 after bursting onto the scene.

Former Gills skipper Josh Wright gets shirty with George Miller last season Picture: Ady Kerry

Miller - the nephew of former Premier League referee Mark Halsey.- finished his first full season with seven goals from five league starts, prompting Championship side Boro to sign him up on a three-year-deal.

He made his Boro debut in the League Cup and played twice in the Checkatrade Trophy before a loan spell this season at Wrexham, which failed to produce any goals.

George Miller up against Max Ehmer last season Picture: Ady Kerry

But once he returned to Bury last month, they began to flow again, with four so far from six appearances since going back to Gigg Lane.

Manager Ryan Lowe said: "He's a hard-working lad, he wants to score goals and he wants to improve. He wanted to come and help us in this fight."

Man in the middle - Darren Drysdale;

Games: 35 Yellows: 97 Reds: 5

Referee Darren Drysdale separates Josh Parker and Jacob Mellis when the sides last met at Gigg Lane Picture: Ady Kerry

This is Drysdale’s second Gillingham match of the season after officiating their game at Blackpool in November.

Jake Hessenthaler was the only player to be cautioned by the Lincolnshire-based official during the midweek 1-1 draw.

Drysdale - a sergeant in the RAF at Waddington - was in charge of last season’s fixture at Bury, handing out four bookings that day, all to Gillingham players.

Assistants: Ravel Cheosiaus and Barry Cropp. Fourth official: Barry Gordon.

Ticket info;

Fans can pay on the day at Bury.

Entrance fee at Gigg Lane costs £20 for adults, £14 for under-23s and over-65s, £10 for under-18s and £5 for under-12s.

Young fans watch on during Gills' last visit to Gigg Lane Picture: Ady Kerry

It’s free for under-5s but it’s cash only for those paying on the turnstiles.

Official coach travel to Bury is priced at £32 for adults and £26 for juniors. The bus leaves Priestfield at 7.30am. To book and for more details contact the club on 01634 300000, option 1.

Fancy a flutter?

Bury are the 13/10 favourites with SkyBet this Saturday, pricing the Gills up at 21/10 to leave with maximum points.

Gillingham have drawn three of their last four games and it's 23/10 to end all square.

Tom Eaves and George Miller are both prices at 4/1 to score first. Lee Martin is set to return to the starting XI this weekend and he's 10/1 to open the scoring.

Gills boss Steve Lovell will be wanting a faster tempo from the off this time around, after a slow start at Shrewsbury, and perhaps a goal in the first 10 minutes for Gabriel Zakuani at 100/1 may be tempting.

Can't get to the game? Follow kentonlinegills on twitter for match updates

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