Slough vs Gillingham Predictions

Having gone out at this stage of the competition last season, Slough will be hoping to go one better and book their place in the third round for the first time in their 125-year history. The Rebels battled hard to go through against fifth-tier Sutton in the last round, but they’ll now need to up their game even further to get the better of League One Gillingham. That said, the Gills made hard work of beating non-league opponents in round one, so there’s hope for the hosts.

Beating League One opponents is a big ask for sixth-tier Slough, though they’re not exactly facing one of the top League One teams. Gillingham are a side that continues to struggle in the third tier, while the hosts have had the benefit of a rest this week, while the Gills were in action away from home on Tuesday night.

In their own division, Slough have performed reasonably well at home this season; they’ve lost just two of their eight matches at Arbour Park, while they’ve failed to score in just two of those eight. Furthermore, their efforts against National League Sutton at home in the previous round were pleasing. Having dominated that contest, the hosts aren’t likely to show any fear when they face a Gillingham side that has often been all over the place on the road in League One.

To be honest, this is a game that Gillingham should be winning, but this competition has a habit of doing funny things to strong favourites, especially when said favourites are forced to go away from home and play on an artificial surface such as the one at Arbour Park.

Moreover, although Gillingham are a League One side, they’re certainly not a League One side that can defend. Sunday’s visitors have given 2.09 expected goals away on average when playing on the road this season, while they’ve kept just a single clean sheet in ten away games. In addition, the Gills shipped twice in normal time away against fifth-tier opponents in the previous round, which should give the hosts another reason to be optimistic.

Going forward, the Gills showed plenty against non-league Hartlepool this season and they’ve often given a good account of themselves in that sense in League One, but their defensive frailties mean that it really would be no surprise to see the hosts get very competitive in this match.

At the prices, a chance is taken on ‘Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score’. With Gillingham likely to force the issue, the League One club should have few problems getting at a sixth-tier defence that hasn’t exactly been watertight this season, though such tactics could once again leave the Kent club exposed, as was the case against non-league opponents in the last round. The hosts can make their presence felt in the final third too.