The Iron will be looking to make it seven wins out of nine games in Sky Bet League One this weekend, when they travel south to face Gillingham at Priestfield on Saturday 16th February (3pm kick-off).
Stuart McCall’s side enter the game on the back of a fantastic run of form, which has seen them lose just once in their last eight games, picking up 19 points in the process. This recent success has led the Iron to 13th in the League One table.
Scunthorpe will be also be searching for back-to-back victories after beating Accrington 2-0 at Glanford Park last time out. Kyle Wootton opened the scoring in the first half with a sublime volley, before Kevin van Veen netted his first goal for the club since returning in January in similarly spectacular fashion.
Gillingham have been on a tough run of late, having not won any of their last five matches in all competitions. Last weekend, they slipped to a heavy 4-1 defeat at home to high-flying Barnsley, as Elliott List scored the only consolation goal late on for the hosts.
TEAM NEWS…
Lee Novak will miss the game as a precaution after tweaking a nerve against Accrington last week, while Matthew Lund will be out for six weeks and is set to undergo a clean-up operation on the knee problem which has plagued him for the last two months.
Elsewhere, Josh Morris faces four weeks out with a fractured fibula and strained ankle ligaments. Jordan Clarke is out for three more months (knee), while Ryan Colclough (knee) is out for the remainder of the season. Rory Watson (arm) also looks likely to be out for the rest of the season following surgery last week.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson will be out up to two months with cartilage damage sustained in the recent victory over Fleetwood Town.
Also unavailable is recent arrival Jacob Bedeau (groin), and James Perch, who completes a two-match suspension after accumulating ten bookings for the season.
PAST MEETINGS…
Gillingham go into this weekend’s game having not lost against the Iron in their previous four encounters, winning three and drawing one.
Scunthorpe’s last success against the Gills’ came back in August 2016, when they won a convincing 5-0 at Glanford Park.
Gillingham won the reverse fixture 2-0 earlier on in the season, and the last meeting at Priestfield ended in 0-0 draw.
| SEASON / DATE | COMPETITION | RESULT | IRON SCORERS |
| 2018-19 - Sat Dec 8 | LG 1 | Iron 0-2 Gills | |
| 2017-18 - Sat Jan 20 | LG 1 | Iron 1-3 Gills | Morris |
| 2017-18 - Tue Sep 26 | LG 1 | Gills 0-0 Iron | |
| 2016-17 - Sat Mar 11 | LG 1 | Gills 3-2 Iron | Madden, Toffolo |
| 2016-17 - Sat Aug 20 | LG 1 | Iron 5-0 Gills | van Veen, Morris 2, Clarke, Hopper |
| 2015-16 - Sat Mar 5 | LG 1 | Iron 0-0 Gills | |
| 2015-16 - Tue 20 Oct | LG 1 | Gills 2-1 Iron | Laird |
| 2014-15 - Sat 25 Apr | LG 1 | Iron 2-1 Gills | Adelakun, McSheffrey |
| 2014-15 - Sat 11 Oct | LG 1 | Gills 0-3 Iron | Madden, Bishop, McSheffrey |
| 2012-13 - Sat 3 Nov | FAC R1 | Gills 4-0 Iron | |
| 2006-07 - Sat 24 Feb | LG 1 | Iron 3-1 Gills | Hinds, Mulligan, Morris |
| 2006-07 - Fri 1 Sep | LG 1 | Gills 0-2 Iron | Hinds, Sparrow |
| 2005-06 - Sat 25 Feb | LG 1 | Gills 1-3 Iron | Sparrow, Hinds, Keogh |
| 2005-06 - Sat 13 Aug | LG 1 | Iron 1-1 Gills | Hinds |
| 1999-00 - Sat 18 Mar | DIV 2 | Gills 3-1 Iron | Harsley |
| 1999-00 - Tue 23 Nov | DIV 2 | Iron 1-4 Gills | Ipoua |
| 1995-96 - Tue 27 Feb | DIV 3 | Gills 0-0 Iron | |
| 1995-96 - Sat 9 Sep | DIV 3 | Iron 1-1 Gills | Hope |
| 1994-95 - Sat 18 Mar | DIV 3 | Gills 2-2 Iron | Young, Turnbull |
| 1994-95 - Tue 30 Aug | DIV 3 | Iron 3-0 Gills | Thornber, Henderson, Smith |
| 1993-94 - Sat 19 Mar | DIV 3 | Iron 1-1 Gills | Juryeff |
| 1993-94 - Sat 25 Sep | DIV 3 | Gills 1-0 Iron | |
| 1992-93 - Mon 12 Apr | DIV 3 | Gills 1-1 Iron | Thompstone |
| 1992-93 - Mon 28 Dec | DIV 3 | Iron 2-2 Gills | Daws 2 |
| 1991-92 - Thu 26 Dec | DIV 4 | Iron 2-0 Gills | White, Martin |
| 1991-92 - Sat 17 Aug | DIV 4 | Gills 4-0 Iron | |
| 1990-91 - Tue 19 Mar | DIV 4 | Gills 1-1 Iron | Flounders |
| 1990-91 - Sat 13 Oct | DIV 4 | Iron 1-0 Gills | Hall |
| 1989-90 - Tue 13 Feb | DIV 4 | Iron 0-0 Gills | |
| 1989-90 - Sat 2 Sep | DIV 4 | Gills 0-3 Iron | Taylor, Flounders 2 |
| 1983-84 - Sat 12 May | DIV 3 | Gills 1-1 Iron | Cowling |
| 1983-84 - Sat 17 Dec | DIV 3 | Iron 2-0 Gills | Cammack, Cowling |
| 1973-74 - Tue 23 Oct | DIV 4 | Iron 1-1 Gills | Simpkin |
| 1973-74 - Wed 12 Sep | DIV 4 | Gills 7-2 Iron | Houghton, Welbourne |
| 1971-72 - Sat 22 Apr | DIV 4 | Iron 3-3 Gills | Kirk, Kerr, McDonald |
| 1971-72 - Sat 4 Dec | DIV 4 | Gills 0-1 Iron | Fletcher |
| 1967-68 - Mon 15 Apr | DIV 3 | Gills 3-1 Iron | Kerr |
| 1967-68 - Fri 26 Jan | DIV 3 | Iron 2-1 Gills | Blyth 2 |
| 1966-67 - Sat 17 Dec | DIV 3 | Gills 0-1 Iron | Ash |
| 1966-67 - Sat 20 Aug | DIV 3 | Iron 1-2 Gills | Thomas |
| 1965-66 - Sat 19 Mar | DIV 3 | Gills 0-1 Iron | Sloan |
| 1965-66 - Sat 25 Sep | DIV 3 | Iron 0-1 Gills | |
| 1964-65 - Tue 3 Nov | DIV 3 | Iron 2-3 Gills | Scott, Lawther |
| 1964-65 - Wed 26 Aug | DIV 3 | Gills 0-0 Iron |
Our full record against Gillingham is as follows:
| P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| Home | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 34 | 27 |
| Away | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 26 | 33 |
| TOTAL | 43 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 60 | 60 |
ONE TO WATCH…
Prolific striker Tom Eaves has scored 16 goals in 31 games this season, and he will be the main man leading the line for Gillingham once again this weekend.
The 27-year-old started his career with Oldham Athletic, before making the switch to Bolton Wanderers in 2010. However, during his six-year stay at the Macron, it didn’t quite go to plan for the striker, as he was loaned out in six separate spells, which included stints at the likes of Shrewsbury, Bristol Rovers and Rotherham.
In 2016, Eaves called time on his days with Bolton and joined Yeovil for one season, where he enjoyed success, playing 40 times during the campaign.
Then, at the end of the 2016/17 season, the striker joined Gillingham on a free transfer following his release by Yeovil, penning a two-year deal with the club. During his time with the Gills’ so far, he has made quite a name for himself, scoring over 30 times in just 68 matches.
ELSHWHERE IN LEAGUE ONE…
FRIDAY
Sunderland vs Accrington Stanley (7:45pm)
SATURDAY
Southend United vs Portsmouth (12:30pm)
Barnsley vs Wycombe Wanderers
Bradford City vs Plymouth Argyle
Charlton Athletic vs Blackpool
Coventry City vs Walsall
Fleetwood Town vs Luton Town
Oxford United vs Peterborough United
Shrewsbury Town vs Burton Albion