Colchester hope to build on recent positives

Gillingham v Colchester United  – leasing.com Trophy – The Priestfield Stadium – Tuesday 7:45pm – Preview

COLCHESTER UNITED look to get up and running on three fronts following huge positives in Sky Bet League Two and the Carabao Cup.

Back to back league successes over Northampton Town and Oldham Athletic, coupled with a shock cup victory over Premier League Crystal Palace has put smiles back on the U’s fans faces. And this was heightened further when they were rewarded for that Selhurst Park win with a home tie against Tottenham Hotspur in round three.

However, despite finding themselves back in the relative calm of the leasing.com Trophy, Colchester will be keen to make their mark in another competition and against a Gillingham outfit plying their trade a division higher.

U’s boss, John McGreal, is likely to give minutes to several of his younger players, although loan signing, Brendan Wiredu, could feature after arriving at the Jobserve Community Stadium from Charlton Athletic. 

Omar Sowunmi could be another option for McGreal after the defender missed recent games through injury. However, Tom Lapslie, Harry Pell and Diaz Wright remain sidelined while, Brandon Comley and Luke Gambin could miss out ahead of linking up with Montserrat and  Malta respectively for international duty.

Gillingham v Colchester United – Head to head:

Gillingham won: 32

Drawn: 26

Colchester United won: 29

Gillingham v Colchester United – Last five meetings (all competitions):

December 26, 2014 – League One

Colchester United 1-2 Gillingham

March 21, 2015 – League One

Gillingham 2-2 Colchester United

September 21, 2015 – League One

Colchester United 2-1 Gillingham

December 28, 2015 – League One

Gillingham 2-1 Colchester United

October 3, 2017 – Checatrade Trophy

Colchester United 0-1 Gillingham

Jeevesie’s prediction: Gillingham 1-1 Colchester United