The EFL fixtures for the new League Two season have been announced and it is Walsall who have been paired with Gillingham to start the new campaign with the game to be played at MEMS Priestfield on Saturday 15th August.
For many – including yours truly – the games against Swindon Town are still the first searched for and the new season hasn’t disappointed as the game at Priestfield will take place on Tuesday 1st December with the return at the County Ground being the final act of the 2026/2027 season on Saturday 8th May.
Eyes were quickly focused on the Christmas period, especially with Boxing Day falling on a Saturday, but the Gills will travel this season to face Crawley Town after hosting Cheltenham Town the Saturday before festivites on 19th December.
The last visitors to Priestfield in the calendar year are Barnet on Tuesday 29th December, whilst newly relegated Exeter City come to Kent for the first game of 2027 on New Year’s Day.
Easter falls on the last weekend in March and gives the Gills the reverse of the Christmas fixtures with a trip to Exeter on Good Friday (26th March) and then welcoming Crawley Town on Easter Monday (29th March).
After Easter, the run in is away to Barnet, home games with Oldham Athletic and Rotherham United, with a home game with newly promoted York City the penultimate Priestfield regular season game sandwiched in between trips to Bristol Rovers and Newport County.
Salford City provide the final opposition at Priestfield on May Day before that potentially mouth watering game at Swindon to end the season and who knows the ghosts of 1985 when the Gills were denied Play Off promotion at Swindon could finally be exorcised.
The full list is:
Sat Aug 8 Carabao Cup One
Sat Aug 15 Walsall H
Sat Aug 22 Fleetwood Town A
Wed Aug 26 Carabao Cup Two
Sat Aug 29 Northampton Town H
Tue Sep 1 Chesterfield A
Sat Sep 5 Rochdale A
Wed Sep 9 Carabao Cup Three
Sat Sep 12 Tranmere Rovers H
Sat Sep 19 Bristol Rovers H
Sat Sep 26 York City A
Sat Oct 3 Newport County H
Sat Oct 10 Rotherham United A
Sat Oct 17 Accrington Stanley A
Tue Oct 20 Port Vale H
Sat Oct 24 Grimsby Town H
Sat Oct 31 Shrewsbury Town A
Sat Nov 7 Emirates FA Cup 1st Round
Sat Nov 14 Colchester United A
Sat Nov 21 Crewe Alexandra H
Sat Nov 28 Salford City A
Tue Dec 1 Swindon Town H
Sat Dec 5 Emirates FA Cup 2nd Round
Sat Dec 12 Oldham Athletic A
Sat Dec 19 Cheltenham Town H
Sat Dec 26 Crawley Town A
Tue Dec 29 Barnet H
Fri Jan 1 Exeter City H
Sat Jan 9 Cheltenham Town A or Emirates FA Cup 3rd Round
Sat Jan 16 Accrington Stanley H
Tue Jan 19 Port Vale A
Sat Jan 23 Grimsby Town A
Sat Jan 30 Shrewsbury Town H
Sat Feb 6 Northampton Town A
Tue Feb 9 Chesterfield H
Sat Feb 13 Rochdale H or Emirates FA Cup 4th Round
Sat Feb 20 Tranmere Rovers A
Sat Feb 27 Colchester United H
Sat Mar 6 Walsall A
Sat Mar 13 Fleetwood Town H
Sat Mar 20 Crewe Alexandra A
Fri Mar 26 Exeter City A
Mon Mar 29 Crawley Town H
Sat Apr 3 Barnet A
Sat Apr 10 Oldham Athletic H
Tue Apr 13 Rotherham United H
Sat Apr 17 Bristol Rovers A
Sat Apr 24 York City H
Tue Apr 27 Newport County A
Sat May 1 Salford City H
Sat May 8 Swindon Town A
The draw for the opening round of the Carabao Cup, which will be the first competitive game for the Gills – being played the second weekend in August – is to be made later on Thursday with Ainsworth’s side allocated ball number 13, and joined in the Southern section of the draw with potential to possibly be drawn against West Ham United, Birmingham City, Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City or former Premier League Champions Leicester City.
The draw for the EFL Trophy will also be completed when side learn which u21 sides from the Premier League the Gills will be playing in the group stage after already be paired with Northampton Town and Neil Harris’s Cambridge United in South Group G.
Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.