The magic of the FA Cup comes to Priestfield on Tuesday night as The Gills look to make their way past Bournemouth.
Following the 3-3 draw at Dean Court in the First Round, Andy Hessenthaler’s side have had a morale boosting 2-1 victory at Aldershot on Saturday, however The Gills boss will once again be forced into making changes to his starting eleven.
Strikers Jo Kuffour and Frank Nouble will miss the game against the Cherries after being made unavailable by their parent clubs and that will force a change of shape to the home side.
Switching back to the 4-5-1 formation that served them so well at Bournemouth seems the most likely idea for Hessenthaler with various players competing for a place in the side.
Skipper Andy Frampton is once again available after missing Saturday’s game through suspension and his inclusion in the side could see Matt Lawrence move to right back enabling Charlie Lee to play his preferred role in the heart of the midfield.
With seven substitutes to be named by Hessenthaler, youngster Ashley Miller will make it amongst those on the bench.
Therefore, The Gills could line up like this:
Flitney. Lawrence, Richards, Frampton, Martin, Whelpdale, Lee, J Payne, Jackman, Montrose, Kedwell.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Fish, King, Weston, Oli, S Payne, Miller.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth manager Lee Bradbury is struggling to find the 18 players he needs to fill his matchday squad.
Bradbury cannot call on the services of on-loan centre-back Steve Cook, whose parent club Brighton have refused him permission to play, while it is a similar situation for wide man Jaime Peters, who has been barred from featuring by Ipswich.
Attacking midfielder Wes Fogden is cup-tied after playing for Havant & Waterlooville in the competition already this season, and striker Charlie Sheringham also misses out having represented Dartford in the earlier rounds.
The Cherries boss is likely to hand a recall to Stephane Zubar at the heart of the back four, while veteran forward Steve Fletcher will return to the bench and Michael Symes could feature in attack – with Bradbury shifting the team’s formation back to 4-4-2.
Youngsters Josh Carmichael and Lewis Lindsay are also in line to be included at the Priestfield Stadium, as the south coast outfit look to make it into round two.