Preview: Gillingham vs. Crewe Alexandra - prediction, team news, lineups

Gillingham will be looking to bounce back from Saturday's heavy home defeat to Oxford United when they continue their League One campaign against fellow strugglers Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night.

The home side are currently 23rd in the table, three points behind 22nd-placed Crewe, with both teams desperately attempting to escape the relegation zone in the third tier.

Match preview

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Gillingham's struggles in League One continued on Saturday afternoon, as they suffered a 7-2 home loss to Oxford, which made it 14 matches without a victory in the third tier of English football.

There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a desperately disappointing few weeks for the club, who have lost nine of their last 11 in the league to drop down into 23rd position in the table.

The Gills, who finished 10th in League One last season, have only picked up 19 points from their 28 league games this term, which has left them three points behind 22nd-placed Crewe and 10 behind 20th-placed AFC Wimbledon, which is an indication of the size of their task.

Steve Lovell remains in charge of the club on a caretaker basis following Steve Evans's departure, and the 61-year-old admitted on Saturday that he is still unsure how long he will be in the position.

Gillingham suffered a 2-0 defeat when they travelled to Crewe earlier this season but recorded a 4-1 victory when the pair locked horns in the corresponding contest last term.

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Crewe, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Rotherham United, which allowed the visitors to move above Wigan Athletic to the top of the table.

The Railwaymen have only picked up one point from their last three matches in the league, which has left them in 22nd position in the table, seven points from the safety of 20th position.

Crewe, who have only won five league matches this term, will be aware of the importance of this game, as a victory could move them to within four points of safety, but a defeat would leave them in a very difficult position heading into their next match against Plymouth Argyle on February 8.

David Artell's side, who finished 12th in League One last term, have struggled on their travels this season, picking up just six points from 14 away games, but Gillingham have the worst home record in the division, collecting just 10 points from 14 matches in front of their own supporters.

Team News

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Daniel Phillips and John Akinde dropped out of the Gillingham XI for the clash with Oxford on Saturday, but the former is expected to return to the side for this contest.

The home side did not pick up any fresh injury concerns in their heavy defeat, but Ben Reeves remains unavailable for selection due to an ankle complaint.

Caretaker head coach Lovell could also make an alteration in the final third of the field for Tuesday's match, with Gerald Sithole pushing to be involved from the first whistle.

As for Crewe, Scott Robertson will be unavailable for selection due to the red card that he picked up against Rotherham, while Travis Johnson is expected to miss the contest through injury.

Johnson's injury, and Robertson's suspension, could open the door for John Lundstram to earn a starting role for Tuesday's relegation six-pointer.

Head coach Artell is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack, though, with Chris Porter and Chris Long set to keep their spots in the final third of the field.

Gillingham possible starting lineup:
Dahlberg; Jackson, Ehmer, Tucker, McKenzie; Phillips, Dempsey, O'Keefe; Sithole, Kelman, Lloyd-McGoldrick

Crewe Alexandra possible starting lineup:
Richards; Mandron, O'Riordan, Sass-Davies, Offord, Lundstram; Lowery, Murphy, Finney; Long, Porter

We say: Gillingham 1-1 Crewe Alexandra

There is no downplaying the importance of this match for both sides, but we are finding it difficult to separate them here. Gillingham have struggled at home, but Crewe's away record is also really poor, so we have had to settle on a low-scoring draw on Tuesday night.

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