GILLINGHAM welcome West Ham on Sunday evening in the FA Cup 3rd Round. Anthony Olsson (@Ant_olsson93) analyses the encounter.
Gillingham v West Ham | Sunday 5th January 2020, 18:15 | BT Sport
Sunday evening sees West Ham face Gillingham at Priestfield Stadium in the 3rd Round of this season’s FA Cup. The Hammers will be buoyed by their thrashing of Bournemouth in David Moyes’ first game back in charge and they’ll be hoping that their hosts don’t ruin their new manager bounce.
The hosts are in good form of late and are currently lying in 11th in League One and they are enjoying a seven-game unbeaten run. This will be a great opportunity for the Gills to carry on their recent good form and they will be eyeing a 4th Round tie.
This game might take a different shape for the visitors if they make wholesale changes but I don’t think Moyes would want to ruin any good feeling around the club by making it harder for them to beat a team that are two leagues below them. I expect West Ham to make a couple of changes but they shouldn’t have a huge effect on the side. They’ll want to make sure they don’t repeat their shocking performance against Oxford in the League Cup.
West Ham are odds-on to win and I think they will triumph but I can see Gillingham giving them a few issues early on. I think both teams can find the back of the net and a Hammers win could be a good angle into the match. The hosts have had seven games where both teams have found the back of the net and the visitors have had nine matches where BTTS has banked.
The Both Teams To Score market is a bit short at 14/19 but I think if we couple this with West Ham winning, we get odds of 11/5 (Bet365) which is much more inviting.
Another angle I like in this match is for Robert Snodgrass to find the back of the net at anytime (11/4 Unibet). If Snodgrass gets a start I can see him causing this Gillingham defence some issues. He looked bright in his last match and he does have an eye for a goal. He has three goals in 15 appearances ,which isn’t an amazing return, but I think this type of game could bring out the best in him.
As I have said previously I think West Ham will look to use a strong side in this game and should they do that I think they will be able to progress to the next round and keep that new manager bounce going.
Best Bets
Gillingham v West Ham – West Ham to win and Both Teams To Score (11/5 Bet365)
Gillingham v West Ham – Robert Snodgrass to score at anytime (11/4 Unibet)
