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Team news;
Darren Oldaker has been handed a surprise start for the Gills in their home game against Bradford.
It’s the first appearance of the season in the league for the 19-year-old midfielder.
Oldaker’s only other appearance was a starting role at Portsmouth in the Checkatrade Trophy.
Boss Steve Lovell has been able to welcome back summer signings Brandon Hanlan and Regan Charles-Cook for the fixture, following injuries, and both start.
Lovell sent home several players from training in the week. There is no place in the squad for Conor Wilkinson, Josh Parker, Bradley Garmston, Josh Rees and Callum Reilly.
Gillingham: Holy, Fuller, O'Neill, Ehmer, Zakuani, Oldaker, Bingham, Byrne, Charles-Cook, Eaves, Hanlan. Subs: Hadler, Lacey, Parrett, List, Nasseri, Mbo, Ogilvie
Preview;
It's been Steve Lovell's toughest week in the job and he needs a result on Saturday.
Gillingham's midweek defeat at Plymouth led to the chairman offering free tickets and for the manager to oust some of his under-performing players.
Everyone will be hoping Lovell can turn it around but he knows the consequences if he can't.
Priestfield hasn't been kind to the Gills so far this season, winning just one of their home league games.
Heading into Saturday, the Gills have lost their last three at home but Bradford are having a tough time too, losing their last four and dropping to the foot of the table.
It's desperate times for both clubs.
Head to head;
Gills wins: 22 Draws: 15 Bradford wins: 14
League form;
Gillingham (LDLWDL): Plymouth (a) 1-3, Doncaster (a) 3-3, Southend (h) 0-2, Portsmouth (a) 2-0, Shrewsbury (a) 2-2, Peterborough (h) 2-4.
Bradford (LLLLWD): Coventry (h) 2-4, Rochdale (h) 0-2, Accrington (a) 1-3, Sunderland (h) 1-2, Wimbledon (a) 1-0, Bristol Rovers (h) 0-0.
Last meeting at Priestfield;
Bradford were early visitors last season and walked away with all three points.
Dominic Poleon scored the only goal of the game, after 19 minutes, missing the chance to double the lead with the goal at his mercy.
The Gills had started the season without a goal in their first two matches, in league and cup, and they lacked quality upfront in this one too.
Their hopes weren’t helped when Conor Wilkinson received a red card for a foul on Timothee Dieng and when Tom Eaves looked to have rescued a point at the death, the linesman’s flag went up for offside.
Last time out;
A dismal first half performance cost the Gills at Plymouth on Tuesday night.
Former Margate striker Freddie Ladapo scored twice to give Plymouth a deserved lead at the break, having dominated the opening 45 minutes.
Plymouth - with just one win in the league before Tuesday’s encounter - got a third goal through Ruben Lamieras before Luke O’Neill pulled one back shortly after for the Gills.
It was a deserved win for Plymouth, as the Gills failed to get near them in the opening half, making them look like a top of the table outfit.
Reaction: Boss disappointed at first half showing
"Shocked and embarrassed - Scally offers fans free tickets
Bus breakdown adds to frustration for Gills' travelling fans
Have your say;
Team news;
Manager Steve Lovell is desperate to see his summer signings return.
Regan Charles-Cook has been labelled as the spark in the squad by the manager and he could finally return this weekend.
More surprising is the return to training of Brandon Hanlan and Dean Parrett, two players who were expected to be out for a few weeks more.
Lovell has been patient with injuries but it's now or never and he needs his best players back.
One to watch - Jack Payne;
Bradford have a midfielder who is capable of unlocking any defence in League 1, especially Gillingham’s.
The Gills have come unstuck when facing Payne previously, before his summer move to Bradford.
A year ago, while at Oxford, he was instrumental in helping see off the Gills, scoring one in a 3-0 league win.
That same season, in the Football League Trophy, he was a key figure again, once more finding the net as the Gills were dumped out of the competition.
Payne finished the season on loan at Blackburn, helping them to win promotion from League 1, earning himself a move to Premier League Huddersfield.
Payne joined the Bantams on a season-long loan and then manager Michael Collins said: “He's very intelligent and is always looking to get on the the ball."
From the opposition;
Bradford are on their second manager of the season but their fortunes haven’t improved.
Michael Collins was sacked after just six games. The 32-year-old had been promoted from under-18 boss to head coach of the first team.
The Bantams were 17th at the time and chairman Edin Rahic said at the time: “We anticipated a much better start and the results have not matched expectations."
Former Crystal Palace and Leeds player David Hopkin was brought in as Collins’ successor but he has found the job tough too.
Hopkin has just one win to his name and the 4-2 home defeat to Coventry City on Tuesday night, coupled with a win for Plymouth against the Gills, left them bottom of the table.
The manager has a catalogue of selection problems ahead of the trip south, joking that he was struggling to fill the bus. Several under-18s have been called up to make bolster the numbers.
“It is (about) mental character now,” he said, to the Yorkshire Post.
“These testing times make you what you are going to be. It is easy for anyone to say ‘this is not my fault’ but you have to make sure your mindset changes. I am seeing that gradually happen.”
Familiar face - Josh Wright;
Former Gills man Josh Wright joined Bradford in the summer and was named captain of the club just before the start of the season.
He had been skipper of the Gills and was a popular figure, enjoying a prolific goalscoring spell during the 2016/17 season, netting 14 times.
One of those goals was against Bradford in a 2-2 draw at Valley Parade.
A public falling in with then boss Ady Pennock eventually led to his Gills exit and a move to Southend, where he stayed for a season before switching to Bradford City.
Now 28, Wright missed much of September through injury, but is back now and eager to get Bradford’s season up and running.
Man in the middle - Lee Collins;
Games: 4 Yellows: 8 Reds: 1
Lee Collins will be taking charge of his fifth game of the season this weekend.
His other four assignments this season have been in League 2, his last being at table topping Lincoln, for their match against Cambridge United.
His 21st minute dismissal of Lincoln’s 17-year-old Ellis Chapman for a late challenge didn’t go down well with the home boss, criticising the impulsive actions of the official.
Lincoln boss Danny Cowley said: “In any walk of life, you don’t make good decisions under impulse, that’s for sure.
“We haven’t got VAR at this level, but we have got other qualified officials. They’re called assistant referees rather than linesman because they’re meant to be assisting the referee.
“I’m sure if he’d spoken to them they would have realised it wasn’t the right decision.”
Collins’ last visit to Priestfield came at the start of the 2015/16 season as the Gills enjoyed a memorable 4-0 win against Sheffield United.
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