A top 6 clash awaits as City take on Millwall, the Tigers put things right on Wednesday evening, and will be aiming high with the hopes of returning from their away day with all 3 points…
A contrasting performance to the one we saw on Friday night, City comfortably won (and kept a clean sheet!!) against what was an unbeaten Wrexham side, on the longest run in the division.
City will have to do more of the same on Saturday, playing on the attack, being direct, and creating chances as they did against Wrexham. The addition of Mo Belloumi really boosted City’s attacking prowess, looking lively on the right-hand side, always willing to carry the ball and beat his opponent.
A strong save from Ivor Pandur stopped Wrexham from levelling the score, ultimately changing the seing of the game and tipping it in favour of the Tigers. Hopefully, this will give a confidence boost to the entire team, not just the penalty save, but also keeping a clean sheet, something that hasn’t come very often for City this season.

Opponent Observations
Millwall have had a flying start to this season, sitting in third place on 35 points with 10 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses, only 4 points behind 2nd placed Middlesbrough.
Unbeaten in their last 4 league games, Millwall have picked up results in games they were expected to, which is all you can ask when your sights are set high for the end of the season.
Always on the cusp of the top 6 in recent years, but never quite getting over the line, the Lions are looking to do one better this season, pushing early and maintaining good form just under halfway through the season.

Key Players

Alfie Doughty
Doughty has not had a blistering start as many expected, after arriving from London rivals Luton Town in the summer, featuring in 8 games so far.
However, the attacking full-back is always someone to be wary of, with 2 assists in those 8 games, averaging over a 7.3/10.
He has averaged a whopping 3.3 big chances created per 90, similar to Ryan Giles in terms of his playing style, an offensive option on the wing who is not afraid to drive with the ball.

Tristan Crama
The Frenchman has had a fantastic start to the 25/26 campaign, starting all 20 games for the Lions. Being utilised out of his natural position (centre back) as a right full-back, he’s come up big in some key moments for Millwall with 2 goals and 2 assists, as well as 2 MOTM performances.

Femi Azeez
Azeez is Millwall’s top scorer so far with 6 goals. Currently averaging the highest match rating with a 7.5/10, Azeez has put up 2 MOTM performances despite only featuring in 12 games this season.
Stats-wise, he’s Millwall’s go-to man in attack, willing to have an effort on goal while also being one of the top chance creators for the Lions, with over 3 shots and 1.5 big chances created per 90.
Not just that, he has also been key in a defensive setting for Millwall, over 4 ball recoveries per 90 and one of the best at re-gaining possession in the final third, showing that he’s willing to press and hassle defenders, which could be key against a City side who haven’t exactly been strangers to making defensive mistakes in recent weeks.

Their Last Few

Portsmouth 3 - 1 Millwall
Millwall 1 - 0 Sheffield Wednesday
Millwall 3 - 2 Southampton
Bristol City 0 - 1 Millwall
Derby County 1 - 1 Millwall

Head to Head

Overall, a very evenly contested fixture in recent times, since 2010, there have been 21 meetings between City and Millwall, 7 being won by the Lions, 8 by City and the remaining 6 ending with the points shared.

Also worth pointing out, a very tightly contested affair between the two sides, with just 4 of those 21 face-offs being settled by more than a goal, we haven’t seen this fixture be won in that fashion since late 2012, when City won 4-1 at home.

The most recent time the two sides faced each other was last season, where City edged out the Lions in a 1-0 away win under Ruben Selles.

Millwall are currently winless against the Tigers in the last 6 fixtures, dating back to April 2022.

Shared Shirts

George Honeyman
Millwall - 2022 to 2024 - 117 Appearances
Hull City - 2019 to 2021 - 126 Appearances

Ryan Longman
Millwall - 2023 - 36 Appearances
Hull City - 2021 to 2024 - 82 Appearances

Gary Alexander
Millwall - 2007 to 2009 - 86 Appearances
Hull City - 2001 to 2002 - 68 Appearances

Predictions

Starting Lineup

Goalkeeper: Ivor Pandur
Left Back: Ryan Giles
Centre Back: Semi Ajayi
Centre Back: Charlie Hughes
Right Back: Lewie Coyle

Midfield: Regan Slater
Midfield: Darko Gyabi
Midfield: Matt Crooks

Left Wing: Liam Millar
Striker: Kyle Joseph
Right Wing: Mohamed Belloumi

Score Prediction

I think City have a good chance to start stringing together a couple of good results. After learning a tough lesson against Boro last Friday, they looked revitalised against Wrexham, and if they are to carry aspects of that performance into Saturday’s match, then they will certainly not be rolled over by Millwall.
I’m going for a 3-1 away win for City, hopeful that Liam Millar is ready enough to start the game, along with McBurnie making a longer cameo against a physical side, which will suit him to a T.