Gillingham v West Ham: FA Cup third-round tips, odds & prediction

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Gillingham v West Ham United in the FA Cup third round at Priestfield Stadium.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 6.16pm Sunday

Best bet

Draw
1pt 16-5 Betfred, BoyleSports, Hills
Back this tip with bet365 here

Team news

Gillingham
No fresh injuries are reported and Steve Evans could name an unchanged side for the sixth successive match. Southampton midfielder Thomas O'Connor has had his loan extended until the end of the season.

West Ham
Jack Wilshere (groin) and Andriy Yarmolenko (muscle strain) remain sidelined and Michail Antonio (hamstring) is a doubt.

Match preview

West Ham have been knocked out of the FA Cup by Sky Bet League One opponents Wigan and Wimbledon in the last two seasons and look shaky odds-on favourites to get past Gillingham this time.

The Hammers have been given an immediate lift by David Moyes, who started his second spell at the London Stadium with a 4-0 victory at home to Bournemouth.

Moyes was far from a universally popular appointment and will be keen to continue improving his relationship with supporters. But he will also be mindful of asking the same players to go into battle at the end of such a hectic period.

He needs the help of more than 11 players to pull West Ham decisively clear of the relegation zone and may want to have a look at a few others before the league campaign resumes.

In an ideal world, Moyes will be able to rest a few bodies and still gain a positive result but nothing will come easily against the Gills, who are unbeaten in their last seven games.

The busy Christmas and New Year period should be even more demanding for lower league teams, who have to squeeze in the same number of games on surfaces which are often heavy and uneven. But Gillingham manager Steve Evans must have a fit bunch of players because he has selected the same starting line-up for five successive matches.

Performances have remained high and Gillingham were rewarded for a strong second half at home to Portsmouth on New Year's Day, with substitute Alex Jakubiak's 80th minute goal clinching a 1-1 draw.

The result ended a run of seven consecutive home victories but leaves Gillingham 11th – only three points outside the playoff places.

Evans may look to add a few players in January and has already clinched one important deal by extending the loan of influential Southampton midfielder Thomas O'Connor until the end of the season.

Reaching the FA Cup fourth round would bolster his budget but Gillingham will probably be relying on West Ham having an off day.

The Hammers had plenty of those under Manuel Pellegrini, who presided over nine defeats in his last 12 matches in charge.

But Moyes was always likely to bring greater consistency to West Ham's performances and will not be fooled into thinking that everything is fixed after just one victory.

Incredibly, West Ham have not gone two games without a defeat since September so their first priority is to break that sequence and ensure, at the very least, they are part of the fourth-round draw.

However, they might need a couple of games to progress, as was the case two years ago when Moyes's West Ham drew 0-0 at Shrewsbury before sneaking through 1-0 in the replay.