Stockport County kick off their 2023-24 League Two campaign against Gillingham at Edgeley Park on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts narrowly missed out on promotion to League One last season, and they will be aiming to compete near the top end of the table once again, while the visitors finished 17th in League Two, in what was a disappointing campaign.
Match preview
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Stockport were denied promotion from League Two in cruel fashion last season, losing the playoff final in a penalty shootout against Carlisle United at Wembley, but there are still a lot of positives to take from their first season back in the EFL.
It was only a slow start as they adapted to life in League Two which denied the Hatters automatic promotion, as they collected 58 points from their final 30 league games, six more than any other side in the division.
If they are able to pick up where they left off last season, Dave Challinor's side should undoubtedly be in contention for the title, and the manager has made some savvy additions to his squad to ensure they are competing near the top.
Former Manchester United man Nick Powell is one of Stockport's high-profile signings, with the attacking midfielder joining on a free transfer from Championship side Stoke City, and they have also brought in the likes of Ibou Touray and Jordan Smith.
In pre-season, the Hatters put in some very promising performances, defeating Preston North End 2-0 in their most recent outing, and Challinor will be hoping his side can carry that momentum into their first competitive game.
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Gillingham's 2022-23 season was not quite as promising, finishing 17th in the table, 20 points off the playoff places, and manager Neil Harris will be well aware he needs to rectify his side's attacking issues if they are to stand a chance of gaining promotion.
The Gills were by far the lowest scorers in the fourth tier last term, netting just 36 goals across the entire league campaign, but they did improve in front of goal towards the end of the season, scoring in 11 of their final 12 games.
Harris has also been active in the transfer market, bringing in attacking midfielder Jonny Williams to provide some more creativity up front, and striker Ashley Nadesan has arrived from Crawley Town, after amassing 13 goal contributions in League Two last season.
Gillingham have had mixed results in pre-season, winning four and losing three of their seven matches, however they head into the new campaign having defeated Dartford 5-0 before following that up with a 1-0 win at Dagenham & Redbridge, either side of a 4-0 loss to Cambridge United.
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Team News
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Stockport will be without winger Myles Hippolyte and striker Kyle Wootton until October, and the latter's absence may be a particularly big blow, as he was the Hatters' top scorer in League Two last season, scoring 14 goals.
As such, Paddy Madden and Louie Barry could lead the line for Challinor's side, with Powell likely to make his first competitive start for Stockport in an advanced midfield role.
Harris is set to hand Nadesan his first competitive start for Gillingham at striker, and the 28-year-old should be accompanied by Tom Nichols, who picked up six goals and four assists in 23 games for the Gills last season.
Gillingham have made a couple of new additions at left-back, signing Scott Malone and Max Clark, but the latter player is likely to get the nod, having started two of the final three pre-season games.
Stockport County possible starting lineup:
Smith; Horsfall, Knoyle, Richardson, Touray; Powell, Lemonheigh-Evans, Sarcevic, Collar; Barry, Madden
Gillingham possible starting lineup:
Turner; Alexander, Ehmer, Ogie, Clark; Coleman, Dieng, Jefferies, Clark; Nichols, Nadeson
We say: Stockport County 2-0 Gillingham
Although Gillingham have strengthened ahead of the new season, they should be no match for Stockport County, who should undoubtedly be competing for automatic promotion this season.
We expect a fairly comfortable victory for the hosts in their first league game, as long as there is no hangover from their gutting defeat at Wembley last season.
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