Gillingham welcome Mansfield Town to Priestfield this Saturday in a big clash in League Two. With the two sides in the top three of League Two, this clash is the equivalent of a six point game with the teams so close it makes the points even more important.
Gillingham currently sit second in League Two after nine games. With six wins and three losses The Gills have 18 points to their name. This leaves them just two points behind top of the league Notts County and one point within the automatic promotion place.
In their last five games in all competitions, Gillingham have three wins and two losses. Niall Maher and Gavan Holohan both scored in the first half to give Grimsby Town the 2 - 0 win. In the Football League Trophy Group stage Gillingham hosted Leyton Orient. Orient drew first blood thanks to an own goal from Glenn Morris, but then both Shaq Forde and Brandon Cooper were sent off. Cheye Alexander then converted a penalty late on to equalise and an own goal from Omar Beckles gave The Gills the 2 - 1 win. After a goalless game with Gillingham managing 13 shots with three on target, The Gills had to wait until the 94th minute for a goal from Shaun Williams for the 1 - 0 win. George Lapslie opened the scoring in the ninth minute but Michael Mellon equalised just two minutes later. Connor Mahoney also scored as Gillingham took the 2 - 1 win as Mellon was sent off late on.
Last time out for Gillingham was against Doncaster. Ben Close grabbed a brace to give Doncaster the 2 - 1 win with Conor Masterson on the scoresheet for The Gills.
Mansfield Town sit just one place below in third. In their nine games, The Stags have four wins and five draws, being one of the two clubs still unbeaten in the league. This leaves Mansfield on 17 points, one point behind the automatic promotion places and three points off top of the league.
In the last five games in all competitions, The Stags have three wins and two losses. Against Bradford City, Mansfield could only manage one shot on target as the game ended in a goalless draw. The next game was much better for Mansfield. KD Davis, George Maris and Aaron Lewis all scored in the 3 - 0 win for The Stags. Joe Taylor opened the scoring in the first half for Colchester and the equaliser would come late on in the 90th minute from Davis, the game finishing 1 - 1. Ollie Clarke scored the only goal in the 1 - 0 win over Barrow who had Junior Tiensia sent off late on.
Mansfield’s most recent outing was in the Third Round against League One Peterborough. Will Swan converted a penalty in the fifth minute and then Lucas Akins converted another in the 93rd minute to grab a 2 - 2 draw and send the tie to penalties. Josh Knight, Ronnie Edwards and Jonson Clarke-Harris all missed to give Mansfield the 3 - 1 win.
Gillingham and Mansfield have met 52 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming back in 1931. Mansfield have a slightly better record in the fixture with 20 wins in comparison to Gillingham’s 15 wins. In fact, a draw is more common in this fixture than a Gillingham win, with 17 draws.