Gillingham vs West Ham United Predictions

• Gillingham won seven of their last eight games at home.
• West Ham won only two of their last nine away fixtures.
• Gillingham kept clean sheets in six of their last eight home matches.
• West Ham failed to register in five of their last nine away contests.

Moyes looking for momentum

David Moyes started his second stint as West Ham manager in hugely positive fashion by helping to mastermind the Irons’ 4-0 win over Bournemouth at the London Stadium in mid-week.

The victory was West Ham’s first win at home since September 22^nd, ending a run of six matches on their own patch without something to shout about.

Moyes will be desperate to maintain the solid start to his reignited West Ham career, and a good run in the FA Cup would go a long way to dispelling some of the negativity surrounding his re-appointment.

The Hammers’ opponents in Moyes’ second game back in the hotseat are a fast-improving Gillingham side, who have been steadily climbing the League One standings in recent weeks.

Gillingham’s superb recent home form

After a rotten start to the campaign, the Gills have found their feet over the past couple of months, and the improvement in their football and performances has led to a run of just one defeat in 12 fixtures in all competitions.

At the Priestfield Stadium, Steve Evans have developed a rock solid exterior, winning seven of their last eight matches there overall, while keeping an incredible six clean sheets in the process.

That run of results included a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup, and though the victory was secured against a reserve Spurs’ XI, it still served to illustrate Gillingham’s nose for the big occasion.

Gillingham’s centre-back pairing of Jack Tucker and Max Ehmer were particularly impressive during their excellent recent run, and manager Evans knows that his team have the tools to frustrated their more illustrious visitors this weekend.

West Ham’s travel sickness

West Ham have come a cropper quite often on the road this season, and the Irons recorded wins in only two of their last nine matches away from home since late August.

Worryingly, West Ham’s goal threat seems to almost completely evaporate in the games they contest away from their London home, and the Hammers failed to score in an incredible five of their last nine matches on their travels.

With Gillingham building quite the head of steam and West Ham continuing to look far from convincing as the away team, we think Saturday’s FA Cup tie has stench of an upset.

Having won seven of their last eight at the Priestfield Stadium, we think Gillingham can harness the energy of the home support to avoid defeat again on Saturday, making them well worth considering in the double chance market.

Four of Gillingham’s seven home victories during their noteworthy eight-game stretch were secured via narrow 1-0 wins, and it’s a scoreline that the defensively robust Gills tend to favour.

With West Ham’s diminishing attacking threat away from home a major factor, we’re tipping Gillingham to extend that sequence of 1-0 wins at the Hammer’s expense in our correct score forecast.