Gillingham vs. Leicester Betting Tips: Away side to outfox hosts

There are a raft of lunchtime kick-offs in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, with one of the most intriguing games taking place at Prestfield Stadium in Gillingham. The Gills are hosting Premier League side Leicester and will be hoping for a giant killing to distract from their poor league form.

The visitors are also struggling for confidence in league action and Brendan Rodgers will be hoping to secure a convincing win to give his side some much needed momentum into the second half of the season. Here at BettingOdds.com we've tasked Billy Grimshaw with previewing the game and he has a couple of bets...

Rooted to the bottom of the football league in 24th position in League Two, Gillingham's fans and players alike will welcome the respite an FA Cup game can give them. Arriving in town are 2021 Cup winners Leicester City.

Things have not been so rosy for the Foxes since that glorious day at Wembley, with an average season last year and another mediocre start to 2022/23. Brendan Rodgers has been working on a limited budget and his sides' overreliance on James Maddison, coupled with their poor defensive record this campaign, have meant a return to challenging for Europe has been impossible

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Despite their league toiling, the Foxes are long odds-on to beat the lowest ranked team in English league football on Saturday and anything other than a comfortable win will outrage the City faithful.

Gillingham have needed replays to advance in the past two rounds, first beating Fylde then edging past Dagenham and Redbridge. Leicester, like all Premier League sides, are joining the competition at this stage and although a giant killing is of course what all neutrals want, we just can't see it.

These two teams have been quite simply woeful at shutting up shop this season. Gillingham have an appalling defensive record and haven't kept a clean sheet in three at home. If they were to keep the Foxes out that would come as a massive surprise, so the reason the price is so big on this selection is the bookmakers expect Leicester to keep the Gills out.

We aren't convinced of this, with Gillingham surely fired up with a bumper crowd and their big chance to make some headlines. A fast start from the home side to unsettle their visitors is expected and backing both teams to find the net at 11/8 looks a good play as the main bet.

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Both teams will probably rotate heavily and if the first choice sides are porous when defending, it is hard to imagine their understudies will fare much better. Amartey and Vestergaard is the expected Leicester centre back pairing and these two have looked shaky when playing with another partner and haphazard when in tandem.

Gillingham are by no means a prime Barcelona when it comes to attacking scenarios, however they could easily cause trouble by playing direct and capitalising on set-pieces. 

Despite our faith that Gillingham will start fast and hit the target, it is expected Leicester's quality will eventually shine through as the game wears on. Priced at 1/6 for the win with most firms, The Foxes should still be able to field a team with the likes of Harvey Barnes, Kelechi Iheanacho and Youri Tielemans in their ranks and this trio alone should be able to pick the lock of Gillingham's defence. 

As Leicester begin to assert throughout the game their class should start to show and a flurry of late goals could stretch the score-line out. Backing correct scores is always tricky but 1-4 looks a touch overpriced at 18/1 and we will wrap up the preview by advising a small stakes play on this outcome, best priced at 18/1 with William Hill.

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