Ryan Lowe is “expecting a tough encounter” this weekend, as Plymouth Argyle host Gillingham in a League One mid-table clash.
Ahead of the battle on Saturday 2 January, 2021, the Plymouth Argyle manager had nothing but praise for his counterpart, Steve Evans, and the work his Gillingham side has done this season.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Steve, in terms of what he’s done. He’s a passionate manager, does things in the way he likes and it’s going to be a big test for us.
“Ultimately it’s not about me or Steve (Evans), it’s about two teams.”
Lowe also explained the needs to capitalise on Gillingham’s loss to Northampton on Tuesday night, after his side also fell short and lost at Home Park to Oxford United.
“We’re expecting a tough encounter, as everyone knows when they’re playing a Steve Evans team.
“They’ve just come off the back of a 3-1 defeat, they’ll be wanting to put that right. We’ve just come off a 3-2 defeat, which we felt hard done by in certain ways, but it’s football.
“What we’ve got to do is worry about us. We know their strengths and weaknesses and we’ve got too nullify their strengths.”
Both sides will look to capitalise on misfortune for the opposition, in this clash in the South West. Argyle’s vibrant and confident style of football has been scrutinised in the past few weeks but the side has shown flashes of confidence and maturity to win the games they’ve played.
Statistics show that Argyle perform exceptionally well in the first half, so it will be interesting to see if they can maintain this and progress it into the second half. Plymouth sit first in League One for chances created and leads taken into the half.
Team News
Plymouth Argyle
Despite falling short at the final hurdle against Oxford on Tuesday, Ryan Lowe will look to keep a similar lineup that has featured, for the Greens, in the last three games.
Mike Cooper is the first choice keeper for Lowe and the Argyle manager had nothing but praise for the young academy graduate and the job he has done so far.
“Massively impressed with Mike, massively.
Embed from Getty Images“What Mike is doing for this club at a young tender age is phenomenal and will put him in massive stead. I’m more than pleased with him.”
The Pilgrims will still be without club captain Gary Sawyer and George Cooper for a period of time, but Lowe confirmed Sawyer is making progress.
“He’s back running now on the grass. He’s doing a little bit of ball work which is nice to see.
“Gaz will be with us probably the end of January I would have thought, but we can’t rush him back.”
Gillingham
The Gills captain, Kyle Dempsey, will play a key role in trying to propel the away side to victory on the weekend.
Dempsey scored in the Tuesday night defeat to Northampton but explained how a bounce back win is needed to prove a point.
“We need to show some real character against Plymouth, we have a point to prove.
“We need to bounce back and put Northampton behind us (via Gillingham Football Club website).”
Striker John Akinde will undoubtedly feature for the Gills on the weekend, scoring 3 goals in 19 appearances this season.
However, we may see a changed Gillingham side as Evans may want to surprise Lowe and Argyle in order to succeed.
Head-to-head statistics
Last time Argyle played Gillingham: Sky Bet League One, 19 April, 2019. Gillingham 3 Argyle 1
Last home game between the two sides: Sky Bet League One, 23 October, 2018. Argyle 3 Gillingham 1
Plymouth Argyle’s league position and form: 17th, LLWDL (last five games)
Top goalscorer: Luke Jephcott, 11 goals
Gillingham FC’s league position and form: 13th, WLLWL (last five games)
Top goalscorer: Jordan Graham, 5 goals
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