Hot-shot Taylor is danger

The Gills, who are currently in the chasing pack for a play-off place, blasted five past Preston's local rivals Burnley at the weekend and the man behind those goals, Bob Taylor, will be out to make a huge hole in Preston's impressive defensive record.

He blasted four in the first half and even the Burnley fans applauded his fifth when he soared above the Clarets defence to head powerfully home.

Gillingham are now comfortably in fourth place behind Fulham, Preston and Walsall and their goal-scoring record is second only to that of the Preston sharp-shooters.

Realistically, Preston would be happy to come away from the Priestfield Stadium with a point, especially with their compact squad currently down to bare bones.

But David Moyes has slapped a ban on injury news coming out of the Deepdale outfit. He wants Gillingham to have as little information as possible about his squad before Saturday.

Michael Appleton could be back from his ankle injury sooner than predicted thanks to some specially-designed inserts in his boots which have enabled him to take part in training.

His running patterns are also being monitored by video cameras as part of a high-tech process to make sure he is fit enough to play.

Meanwhile, loan star Steve Basham, who has made a massive impression during his month at Deepdale, plays his final game for North End at Gillingham.

Fans are keeping their fingers crossed that Basham will be snapped up by Moyes now, and the manager has made no secret of the fact he'd love to see Basham join Preston permanently.

Moyes has been talking to Southampton bosses David Jones this week but the main stumbling block will be Basham's reluctance to leave the South Coast.

And if he is to leave Deepdale, the fans would love him to go out on a high - by knocking several past Gillingham on Saturday.

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