Crewe Alexandra will travel to Gillingham on Tuesday evening with the aim of moving into the play-off spots in League One and making it 11 unbeaten in the division.

Dave Artell’s side drew 1-1 with AFC Wimbledon on Saturday but will be looking to bounce back on Tuesday and move into the top six for the first time this season. Gillingham, meanwhile, will be looking to make it three unbeaten.

Here’s our preview of the match.

Team news

There could be some new signings on show on Tuesday. Gillingham completed the loan signing of Bristol City defender Robbie Cundy on Monday and he is expected to start at centre back, with Connor Ogilvie moving to a more familiar left back role.

There are no fresh injury concerns for the Gills. Dominic Samuel and Chris Maghoma remain absent, whilst Henry Woods only recently returned to full training, so is unlikely to feature.

Jacob Mellis is being assessed on a game-by-game basis, but did not make the bench in their last game on Saturday.

New Crewe signing Anthony Evans could make his debut in midfield, but Dave Artell will be without defender Luke Offord, who is nursing a hamstring injury.

Harry Pickering and Michael Mandron - who joined Crewe from Gillingham in the summer - are both doubts after missing the weekend draw with Wimbledon.

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Predicted lineups

Gillingham (potential 4-2-3-1): Bonham - Jackson, Cundy, Tucker, Ogilvie - Slattery, Dempsey - Graham, Lee, MacDonald - Oliver.

Crewe (possible 4-3-3): Richards - Jones, Lancashire, Beckles, Adebisi - Wintle, Evans, Finney - Dale, Porter, Kirk.

Form guide

Gillingham are unbeaten in two games after a 1-0 win at Accrington Stanley and a 2-2 draw with Rochdale, but before that they had lost five of their last six games. They currently occupy 13th place in the League One table.

Crewe, however, are on one of the best runs in the division, and are unbeaten in 10 league games. They have, though, drawn four of their last five - most recently against Wimbledon on Saturday. They are eighth in League One, and just one point off the play-off places.

Ones to watch

Callum Slattery is one to watch for Gillingham. The Southampton loanee has slotted seamlessly into the Gills midfield and showed his quality in his first two appearances for the club - a star performer in the win at Accrington and picking up and assist in the draw with Rochdale.

For Crewe, Oliver Finney has started to find his scoring boots from midfield and the 23-year-old will want to keep than run going at Priestfield. He has scored five goals in Crewe’s last six games - a welcome boost as Alexandra aim for the play-off places.

Previous meetings

Gillingham won the reverse fixture 1-0 after a John Akinde header saw the Gills stop a rot of five consecutive losses at the start of November.

Due to Crewe’s recent promotion, there was no fixture last year, but the last game between the two at Priestfield was won 3-0 by Gillingham.

In total, the teams have crossed paths 50 times in their histories. Crewe lead the way in terms of victories with 22 wins to Gillingham’s 20, whilst there have also been eight draws.

How to watch

The game has not been selected for TV coverage in the UK, but an iFollow pass can be purchased for £10 via either club’s website to stream the game live. Gillingham season ticket holders can watch for free.

Kick-off is scheduled for 18:00 GMT.

Manager comments

Gillingham manager Steve Evans told VAVEL recently that he is wary of the threat Crewe possess.

He said: “Dave Artell has done brilliant at Crewe. They have a style, they keep and pass the ball, we either work hard enough to stop that or it will be a long night for us.

“They have sold a fullback to the Championship and have probably had offers for four or five players that have come through that system – it is famous worldwide.”

Crewe boss Dave Artell knows his side have to improve from the reverse fixture.

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He told the press in the week: “Last time the performance was good but the result was poor. Steve’s first words to me at full time were ‘harsh’. But that is the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.”

“We have got to make sure we play better than we did Saturday and hopefully get a favourable result.”

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