Northampton Town welcome Gillingham to Sixfields Stadium on Tuesday night for their third and final EFL Trophy group-stage fixture, with the visitors sitting second in Southern Group G and the Cobblers bottom of the standings.

Northampton have lost both of their opening matches in the competition but could still sneak into the knockout stages with a sizeable victory, provided they can improve their goal difference, while Gillingham know that a point will be enough to secure qualification after Brighton & Hove Albion Under-21s have already played and lost their final group fixture.

Match preview

Northampton Town's difficult run continued at the weekend as they suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to York City in the opening round of the FA Cup, with the Cobblers falling behind after just 10 seconds.

Only a few months ago, Northampton and their weekend opponents were separated by two divisions, but the Cobblers' relegation from League One and York's promotion mean the two clubs are now competing in League Two after swapping places in the football pyramid.

Under Chris Hogg, Northampton would have been hoping to make an immediate return to the third tier this season, but their early performances suggest that could be a difficult task, with 14 points from 13 league matches leaving them just two points above the relegation zone.

Although the EFL Trophy is unlikely to be a major priority for Hogg and his side, their performances in the competition have been disappointing, particularly after reaching the knockout stages last season.

The Cobblers head into their final group fixture without a point to their name, having suffered defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion Under-21s and Cambridge United in their opening two matches.

As for Gillingham, Gareth Ainsworth's side made a reasonably encouraging start to the 2026-27 League Two campaign, recording five wins, five draws and four defeats from their opening 14 matches to sit just two points outside the automatic promotion places.

The Gills entered Saturday's FA Cup encounter as favourites against National League opposition Barrow, but they were made to work hard at Priestfield Stadium by a side who had gone 10 matches unbeaten in all competitions.

With the tie heading towards extra time, Innes Cameron struck a dramatic stoppage-time winner to secure a 1-0 victory for Gillingham and prevent Barrow from progressing to the second round.

That narrow success has done little to disguise the visitors' inconsistent recent form, however, with Ainsworth's men recording two wins, three defeats and a draw across their last six matches in all competitions.

Nevertheless, Gillingham remain in a strong position to progress from Southern Group G, knowing that a draw on Tuesday would be enough to secure their place in the knockout stages.

Northampton Town EFL Trophy form:

Northampton Town form (all competitions):

Gillingham EFL Trophy form:

Gillingham form (all competitions):

Team News

Northampton will be forced into a change between the posts after goalkeeper Zach Jeacock was forced off with an injury just 12 minutes into their heavy FA Cup defeat against York City.

James Dadge is the most likely candidate to replace him on Tuesday, while Jeacock will join Sam Hoskins in the treatment room, with the latter also unavailable due to a hamstring problem.

Gillingham, meanwhile, have the option of retaining the same starting XI that featured in their most fixture, although Ainsworth is likely to make several changes.

Rohan Luthra started the Gills' previous group match and could replace Oliver Wright in goal, while Bradley Dack is also in contention to return after not featuring since Halloween.

Ainsworth is expected to retain his familiar back three, although Omar Beckles could be rested for the trip to Northampton while former Cobblers striker Tom Eaves could come in to face his former side. 

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:

Dadge; Donacien, Moore, Powell, Briggs; Evans; Dale, Fornah, Lemonheigh-Evans, O'Brien-Whitmarsh; Warhurst

Gillingham possible starting lineup:

Luthra; Dobbs, Smith, Daley; Freeman, McKenzie, Coleman, Brophy; Waldock, Eaves, Dack 

We say: Northampton Town 0-1 Gillingham

With Gillingham in pole position to advance to the next stage of the EFL Trophy, we expect them to make no mistakes here. 

We see the away side securing a narrow win that sees them end the group stage with six points from a possible nine before returning to league action next week. 

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