Gillingham will look to cause an FA Cup shock when Premier League side Sheffield United come to Priestfield for the Third Round tie on Saturday.

Stephen Clemence’s side go into the game very much the underdogs, but with the Blades struggling in the top tier and The Gills having found some form in the past week or two, anything is possible.

A packed ground and a potentially hostile atmosphere could work in the favour of a Gillingham side that have had an indifferent start to their League Two campaign, but with an almost fully fit squad in which to choose from, they could pull off a surprise.

Clemence could well keep faith with the side that started the League Two clash at Colchester United on New Year’s Day, a game that The Gills won 1-0 courtesy of Scott Malone’s second half strike.

The two teams are meeting for the very first time in the FA Cup and for the first time in any competition since January 2017 when they played out a 2-2 draw in League One.

Gillingham have progressed to the FA Cup third round for the second successive season after beating non-league Hereford United and League One side Charlton Athletic by 2-0 scorelines in the first two rounds.

Clemence was in charge for both fixtures and has overseen a total of 13 games since his appointment as Gills manager in November, winning six times including back-to-back 1-0 victories in League Two against Sutton United and Colchester United either side of last weekend.

Left-back Scott Malone netted the decisive goal in both matches to help Gillingham climb to 10th place in League Two, just one point behind seventh-placed AFC Wimbledon who occupy the final play-off spot.

Gillingham now shift their focus to a glamour tie in the FA Cup, a competition close to Clemence’s heart as his late father Ray Clemence won England’s most prestigious piece of silverware twice as a player with Liverpool (1974) and Tottenham Hotspur (1982).

The prospect of Gillingham going deep into this season’s competitions is slim, though, as they have lost six of their last seven FA Cup third-round ties as well as nine of their previous 11 encounters with Premier League opposition.

Since replacing Paul Heckingbottom in early December, Chris Wilder is yet to make the desired impact in his second spell in charge of Sheffield United, who have won just one, drawn one and lost four of their last six games.

The Blades were put to the sword 2-0 by reigning Premier League champions Manchester City last weekend – their 15th league defeat of the campaign – and they remain rooted to the foot of the table, seven points adrift of safety.

Sheffield United will welcome this weekend’s break from the Premier League as they have had a decent crack at the FA Cup in recent seasons, progressing as far as the quarter-finals twice and the semi-finals once (last season) over the last four years.

The Blades have not won away from home in any competition since May last year, but they will be confident of success on Saturday as they have advanced from 18 of their last 19 FA Cup ties against teams from lower divisions.

Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.