Gillingham’s management will have a weekend trip to Morecambe on their minds when selecting the team to take on Swansea tonight.
A trip to Wales is the first stop of a mammoth few weeks for the Gills as they follow that with games at Morecambe and Fleetwood in successive weekends – racking up 1,000 miles in the process.
Swansea away in the first round of the Carabao Cup wasn’t a draw many fans will have welcomed but Gills manager Mark Bonner will pick a team to give it their best shot.
Bonner’s already said he’s likely to be leaving midfielder Armani Little behind after a full match against Carlisle United on Saturday, having only just returned to fitness.
Weekend injuries for Conor Masterson and Tim Dieng could rule them out too.
“I think a lot of the boys who haven’t played (on Saturday) will play,” said the manager.
“We’ll definitely get minutes into those because otherwise, they are too far away from their last big minutes in pre-season.
“In one sense, it is an extension of pre-season for us, to get those players fit and up to speed because we need them but it is a tough game, we know that.
“It is also an opportunity for us to go and test ourselves in an unbelievable stadium against a top, top team so it will be what it will be.”
Swansea lost 1-0 at Middlesbrough in their opening game of the Championship season on Saturday.
Head coach of the Swans is Luke Williams, who took Notts County back to the Football League before moving to South Wales in January, leading them to a 14th place finish.
Williams – who left Notts sitting fifth in the table last season – will be hoping to bring some more success to a club who had been battling against relegation for much of last season. The club are in their seventh successive season playing in the second tier after seven seasons in the Premier League.
For both teams the match will be an early break from the pressure of the league. There’s no expectation on the Gills to come away with a result.
Bonner said: “We will have a right good go at it, see how much of the ball we can have, see how difficult we can make if for them when they’ve got it and use it as a sensible days’ work for some in terms of getting 45 (minutes) into a few.
“It will definitely be a five-sub game for us. We will make sure everyone is in the best health possible for Saturday but we will have a go at getting through in the cup as well.”
Gillingham pulled off a surprise result at the first-round stage last season by beating Championship side Southampton 3-1 at Priestfield before losing 3-2 at then-Premier League Luton Town in the next round.
A penalty shootout win over Brentford the year before was followed by defeat at Wolves.
The game could be an opportunity for the likes of former Welsh international Jonny Williams, Jayden Clarke, Euan Williams and Shad Ogie to get extra minutes into their legs.
