Match Previews

Preview | Gillingham v Northampton Town

28th August

Gillingham v Northampton Town

Sky Bet League Two

MEMS Priestfield Stadium

Saturday August 29, 2026

Kick-Off, 3pm

Team News:

Gills will be without Kadeem Harris for an extended period after he ruptured his ACL in the 0-0 draw at Fleetwood last weekend. Ollie Wright is in contention to be involved against Northampton, having missed the opening three games of the season.

Armani Little and Ethan Coleman are both out of Saturday’s fixture as they continue their recovery from their respective injuries. The game could come too soon for Sam Tabares and Bradley Dack. Lamin Sillah could be involved after signing on loan from Nottingham Forest on Thursday.

Northampton will be without Jack Burroughs and Liam Shaw, while Conor McCarthy could be involved with the matchday squad after playing 45 minutes in the EFL Trophy. Nathan Opoku will be available for selection after his work permit came through.

Manager Comments:

Gareth Ainsworth: “It will be a very tough game. They are League One calibre with some of their players. We need to be confident that we can put out a team that will beat them on Saturday.

“We have been working in training this week on what we want to do, how we want to play and what their strengths are.”

Gareth’s exclusive with Gills TV can be seen here.

Chris Hogg: “I’m really looking forward to it and I think it’s a really good game for us to go in to.”

“I’ve come up against Gareth Ainsworth’s teams many times and he’s done a great job wherever he’s been.

“I love his character and it will be a tough physical game. They will be looking for a positive home performance but for me I want us to just go there and be us.

“We need to maintain our performance levels but take the next step."

Previous Meetings:

Our last victory against ‘The Cobblers’ at ME7 came in November 2016, as the Gills produced a second half turnaround to take all three points.

The visitors went in front ten minutes before half-time when John-Joe O’Toole bundled his header home from inside the six-yard box. However, it took the Gills a couple of minutes to equalise after the break. A corner from the left was floated in the direction of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who directed a header goalward. Max Ehmer came sliding in to make the all-important contact, sending his low drive past a helpless Adam Smith.

With the game seemingly heading towards a draw, Emmanuel-Thomas produced a late winner. Northampton could only clear the ball as far as the forward, who was 25 yards from the goal. He brought it forward, cutting it onto his left foot, before bending a shot towards the bottom left corner that squeezed past Smith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXnUZbhC5cs

Northampton leads the head-to-head with 55 wins to Gillingham’s 41 in all competitions. The fixture has also ended in a stalemate on 20 occasions.

Tickets:

BUY TICKETS | GILLINGHAM V NORTHAMPTON TOWN

Home supporters can buy tickets online, or in person, up until kick-off. Our ticketing desk will be open from 9am on the day of the fixture. Away fans can also purchase online via their dedicated away portals until 3pm.