Northampton Town face the issue of their defensive and goalscoring problems as they face Gillingham

The Cobblers face the Gills at the PTS Academy Stadium. Both sides have games postponed on Boxing Day due to their opponents, Ipswich Town and Peterborough United, experiencing Covid-19 outbreaks.

Former Gillingham defender, Joe Martin, will be out of action due to the FA handing the full-back a one-match ban and £1,200 fine after using “improper, abusing and insulting” language after the Cobblers fell to defeat against Crewe Alexandra, extending the sides defensive crisis.

Having conceded eight goals in two games against second-place Lincoln City and Oxford United who’re only one point ahead of Keith Curle’s side. As well as conceding goals, scoring them is also a huge problem for the Cobblers who are the leagues joint-lowest scorers alongside Wigan Athletic with only 16 goals scored in League One so far this season.

Cobblers frontman, Harry Smith, has struggled to find form since arriving at Northampton having only scored 11 goals in 48 matches, three of which have been scored this season.

With no game on Boxing Day as a result of a number of Ipswich Town players testing positive for COVID-19, Keith Curle is looking forward to the side having a rest ahead of the Gillingham match.

“In the light of our recent results. I think having some time to rest and recuperate as a group will do us some good but first and foremost, we wish everyone at Ipswich well and we hope they recover quickly”

The Cobblers boss also stated that his side will be training on Boxing Day in order to bounce back against the Gills.

“We won’t lose our focus; we want the players as professionals to enjoy Christmas Day but then we will be in on Boxing Day preparing for Gillingham”

Gillingham also have had their Boxing Day fixture with Peterborough United postponed due to another COVID-19 outbreak within the Posh squad.

The Gills boss, Steve Evans, has admitted that his side have been severely affected by injuries so far this season citing.

“We have been decimated with injuries to key players, but these lads have an inner resolve to keep going, we must all continue to keep focused, get on the training ground and work hard.”

In what is a vital game for Northampton which can see them move out of the relegation zone with a win, Keith Curle and his men will be hoping that with an additional break and more training the Cobblers will be able to solve their problems.

Since their Play-Off final victory in June, Northampton’s defensive partnership of Charlie Goode and Jordan Turnball left the club leaving Curle with a weakened side moving into League One. The pair racked up 16 clean sheets in all competitions last season, whereas the side have only managed two clean sheets so far this campaign.

Following the announcement that Northamptonshire will move to tier three COVID-19 restrictions on Boxing Day, this match will also be played without fans as a result which could benefit Curle’s squad who are low on confidence.

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