Tom Eaves returns to the starting eleven for Gillingham at Portsmouth today.

The Gills have made two changes to their XI, with Barry Fuller the other player returned to the starting line-up.

Fuller is expected to play left-back, in preference to Bradley Garmston, who is named on the bench.

Eaves wins his place back upfront at the expense of Josh Parker, picked as one of the seven subs.

Conor Wilkinson drops out of the squad completely with Elliott List back in.

Gillingham: Holy, O’Neill, Fuller, Ehmer, Zakuani, Lacey, Reilly, Byrne, Parrett, Eaves, Hanlan.

Subs: Hadler, Garmston, Parker, List, Nasseri, Simpson, Rees.

Preview;

The odds are stacked against the Gills to get a win this weekend.

Steve Lovell's side haven't won a game in their last 10 outings, a run of results that includes a 4-0 Checkatrade Trophy defeat at Fratton Park.

It's eight without a win in the league for Lovell's men and facing them this Saturday are the league leaders.

The Gills will need to be at their best to get anything from Kenny Jackett's side who have yet to lose in the league.

While Lovell's men were without a game in the week, due to pitch renovations, Portsmouth...

Head to head;

Gillingham wins: 7 Draws: 7 Portsmouth wins: 19

League form;

Portsmouth (WWDWDW): Coventry (a) 1-0, Rochdale (a) 3-1, Wycombe (h) 2-2, Peterborough (a) 2-1, Shrewsbury (h) 1-1, Plymouth (h) 3-0.

Gillingham (DLLLLD): Shrewsbury (a) 2-2, Peterborough (h) 2-4, Rochdale (a) 0-3, Wimbledon (h) 0-1, Barnsley (a) 1-2, Coventry (h) 1-1

Last time out;

Shrewsbury Town 2 Gillingham 2

Tom Eaves hit a 90th minute equaliser for the Gills last weekend.

Gillingham had taken the lead in the opening half, through Brandon Hanlan, but Shrewsbury turned it around after the break.

Lee Angol put Shrewsbury level before Ollie Norburn looked to have bagged all three points for the visitors, in the 87th minute.

The Gills still managed to claim a share of the spoils as Eaves struck at the death.

Reaction: Credit to the boys, says Gills boss Lovell

Last league visit;

Portsmouth 1 Gillingham 3

Gillingham claimed their first ever league win at Fratton Park on their last visit.

They won the match in style too, with a couple of great strikes from Lee Martin and a memorable finish from Conor Wilkinson, against his former club.

Jamal Lowe had put Portsmouth ahead but fluffed a great chance to make it two before the break.

Wilkinson, on at the break from the subs’ bench, levelled just three minutes after the restart as the Gills put a poor opening half behind them.

Connor Ronan hit the post for the home side before Martin’s double put the Gills on the path to victory.

Team news;

Saturday’s game looks set to come too soon for midfield pair Regan Charles-Cook and Billy Bingham.

Boss Steve Lovell doesn’t want to rush either player back from injury.

Lovell is expecting to have a couple of players back, with Bradley Garmston and Elliott List returning to training at the start of the week, but Connor Ogilvie remains a doubt.

Keeper Tomas Holy is fit and available after receiving stitches to a head injury last weekend.

More on the Gills;

Lovell: Let's go for it!

Gills midfielder finding his feet

Conor Wilkinson fires a midweek brace past Hessy's men

Tom Eaves speaks of his pleasure at scoring against former side

From the opposition;

Portsmouth have yet to lose in League 1 this season but manager Kenny Jackett is wary of the Gills.

Jackett knows that the visitors won't be looking to sit back at Fratton Park this weekend.

The Pompey boss said: "I’ve got a lot of time for their manager Steve Lovell. They’ll throw a lot of men forward and get people in the box – it’s a strong feature of what they do.

“We’ll have to adapt very quickly and will have to be ready for them because this is a big home game for us in the middle of quite a few away fixtures.

“We need to start better at Fratton Park than we have done in recent weeks. We have a great crowd and want to bring that into play as soon as possible.

“We want to put on a good show in front of our own fans and we need to make sure we overcome this test.”

There is likely to be another big crowd at Fratton Park, close to 20,000 this Saturday. After back to back home draws, Jackett will be keen to give them a win.

"Each game provides its own unique test and there are some very good sides in this league," said the manager.

“Going away to Coventry on Tuesday night (winning 1-0) will be completely different to playing Gillingham at home on Saturday.

One to watch – Jamal Lowe;

The winger is sure to be a threat to the Gills this weekend.

He has pace, trickery and an eye for goal, notching six this season so far.

It’s not just his goals that are important to Pompey, he claimed more assistant than any other at the club, as he continued to impress following his move from non-league.

Lowe was the PFA player-of-the-month for August and has also been nominated for the SkyBet September accolade, benefiting from Portsmouth’s counter-attacking style.

He’s enjoying the football under boss Kenny Jackett, saying: “‘I think we are a bit more dynamic now, a bit more explosive, and that’s my type of game.

“I enjoy trying to get up the pitch as quickly as possible, getting into space.

‘The quicker we do it the more space there is, the less set the opposition are and the less time we have to prepare, so it’s better for the attackers.”

The Gills have been working on defending the counter attack this week, with manager Steve Lovell keen to stamp out the goals conceded on the break. Click here to read his comments.

Man in the middle – Christopher Sarginson;

Games: 9 Yellows: 24 Reds: 0

The last time the Staffordshire official was in charge of a Gills game they were also up against Portsmouth.

That game at Priestfield, last season, ended in a 1-0 win for the visitors, a result that saw the Gills drop to 23rd in League 1.

Things might have been different had Sarginson pointed to the spot when Sean Clare was tripped, prompting big appeals that were ignored by the official.

Josh Parker also had an effort ruled out for offside, in a match that turned out to be Peter Taylor’s last in temporary charge, making way for the appointment of Steve Lovell.

Tickets;

Gillingham have received an allocation of 980 for the match, with away fans housed in the Milton End.

This game is now designated 'all ticket' and purchases must be made pre-match. No tickets will be available on the day of the game.

Prices are £23 for adults, £17 for over-64s, £19 for young adults (18-22), £10 for unaccompanied juniors (Under-18) and £5 for accompanied juniors with a paying adult/senior.

Tickets are also on sale for the club's Checkatrade Trophy match at The Valley on Tuesday night. The Gills play Tottenham's under-21s in a game moved to Charlton due to a new pitch being installed.

Adult tickets cost £15, it's £10 for seniors and £5 for under-18s. Tickets will be available on the night, cash only.