Perhaps a welcome break from league football as Gillingham & Brighton U21 face off to decide who makes it to next stage of the EFL Trophy. All the pre-match information is available here!
It's no vacation for neither Gillingham nor Brighton U21 as both were in action only a few days ago. Expect some tired legs on the pitch and/or possibly some changes to the lineups.
Gillingham form and stats
Last season, Gillingham's EFL Trophy journey ended in the group stage.2-2-2 (win-draw-lost) are the League Two numbers at home for Gillingham so far this season.
Gillingham are confident in defense, having played 237 minutes without conceding a goal in the league.
Gillingham's previous game was also played at home, ending 1-0 versus Sutton United. The home side are looking to build on that result. The victory against Sutton United came after MacDonald's winning goal. The Gillingham manager Harris was very happy afterwards with the decision to bring on that player in the 46th minute. Goalkeeper Morris got the top rating on the team in that game; 7.44 out of ten. Morris topped it up with a clean sheet.
Before that, Gillingham played out a League Two draw 0-0 when visiting Hartlepool United.The hosts are modest favourites in this match, with the bookmakers estimating the chance of a home win at about 50% +- five percent. It's interesting to look at how Gillingham have performed under similar circumstances, so here are some numbers: When modest favourites like this (we found 4 games) they have won 3 times, drawn 0 and lost 1.
There will be little rest for Gillingham after this match as they are travelling to Crewe Alexandra for a League Two game in only four days.
Gillingham have scored 2 goals here in 6 league matches, a depressing statistic. Gillingham are not conceding a lot of goals here at MEMS Priestfield Stadium in the league, averaging less than one per game. The total is 4 from 6 matches.
Brighton U21 form and stats
Last season their EFL Trophy adventure ended in the group stage.1-0-3 is the win-draw-loss statistic for Brighton U21 in their Premier League 2 Division One matches away.
Brighton won their last game, 4-0 versus Tottenham U21 played at home. As mentioned above, Brighton U21 was the only team on the pitch versus Tottenham U21 in their previous game, winning 4-0. This could be a tougher task.
It was a Premier League 2 Division One defeat before that one as the away game against Everton U21 wasn't a success with a 0-1 loss.Brighton U21 are the outsiders in this one, but not by much. Their performance in similar games (being the away team and moderate outsiders) is 1 win, 2 draws and 2 defeats. From a total of 5 matches.
Brighton have another match that requires travelling in just four sleeps, a Premier League 2 Division One fixture versus Manchester United U21. A rough fixture list for them!
Brighton U21 has displayed an ability to score goals in away matches in the league this season, 6 goals from 4 games. Brighton U21 struggle to build an impenetrable defensive wall in away matches with a total of 7 goals conceded from these games.
Head 2 Head
Top Goalscorers
  E. Ferguson 4 goals |  A. Moran 2 goals |   A. MacDonald 1 goals |
Gillingham missing players
Brighton U21 missing players
| Gillingham | Brighton U21 | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 12 | Played | P | 20 | 25 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Won | W | 5 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 5 | Drew | D | 5 | 8 | ||
| 12 | 5 | Lost | L | 10 | 11 | ||
| 15 | 6 | Scored | S | 28 | 35 | ||
| 30 | 12 | Conceded | C | 33 | 39 | ||
| 80% | 67% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 96% | ||
| 60% | 50% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 90% | 88% | ||
| 24% | 17% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 55% | 56% | ||
| 12% | 8% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 40% | 40% | ||
| 4% | 8% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 20% | 16% | ||
| 24% | 25% | BTTS | BTTS | 65% | 60% | ||
| 40% | 50% | Clean Sheets | C S | 10% | 16% | ||
| 56% | 58% | Failed to Score | F T | 25% | 28% | ||
| 4.1 | 5.4 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 4.2 | 4.2 | ||
| 5.1 | 5.6 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 5.4 | 5.4 | ||
| 1.9 | 1.8 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.2 | 1.4 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Red cards | R C | 2 | 2 | ||
| 10.1 | 11.4 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 10.6 | 11 | ||
| 1.9 | 2.2 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 4.4 | 4.2 | ||
| 30% | 17% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 32% | 34% | ||
| 12.4 | 11.1 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 14.2 | 13.6 | ||
| 3.8 | 3.4 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 5.5 | 5.2 | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Charlton Athletic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Colchester United | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Brighton U21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | Gillingham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Leyton Orient | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 28 |
| 2 | Northampton Town | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 26 |
| 3 | Stevenage | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 25 |
| 4 | Bradford City | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 21 |
| 5 | Salford City | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 21 |
| 6 | Barrow | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 21 |
| 7 | Mansfield Town | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| 8 | Doncaster Rovers | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 20 |
| 9 | Carlisle United | 11 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 18 |
| 10 | Swindon Town | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 17 |
| 11 | Tranmere Rovers | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 16 |
| 12 | Crewe Alexandra | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 16 |
| 13 | Grimsby Town | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| 14 | Sutton United | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| 15 | AFC Wimbledon | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 12 |
| 16 | Newport County | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | -3 | 11 |
| 17 | Walsall | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| 18 | Gillingham | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | -8 | 10 |
| 19 | Stockport County | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -4 | 9 |
| 20 | Harrogate Town | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | -7 | 8 |
| 21 | Colchester United | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | -8 | 6 |
| 22 | Crawley Town | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | -9 | 6 |
| 23 | Hartlepool United | 11 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | -11 | 6 |
| 24 | Rochdale | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 11 | -11 | 5 |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Manchester City U21 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 17 |
| 2 | Crystal Palace U21 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 17 |
| 3 | Arsenal U21 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 15 |
| 4 | Everton U21 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| 5 | Fulham U21 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| 6 | Liverpool U21 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | -1 | 10 |
| 7 | Chelsea U21 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 9 |
| 8 | Brighton U21 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 8 |
| 9 | Leicester U21 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 10 | Wolves U21 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -6 | 8 |
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers U21 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 6 |
| 12 | Manchester United U21 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 13 | -11 | 4 |
| 13 | Tottenham U21 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | -11 | 3 |
| 14 | West Ham United U21 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | -10 | 1 |
