BIG points are up for grabs at both ends of the table when Millwall and West Bromwich Albion go head-to-head on Good Friday.
The Lions know they still need a few more victories to be certain of their Championship status while the Baggies are looking to shed their second-tier tag and get back into the Premier League.
Eight points clear of seventh-placed Hull City, West Brom have put themselves in a strong position to be one of the four clubs in the play-offs at the end of the season.
But a trip to Neil Harris’ Millwall is not the type of encounter they would have wanted in the run-in.
Harris has made the Lions difficult to beat with even Leeds United struggling to turn their obvious superiority into goals before the international break.
Suddenly The Den once again feels like the type of place where underprepared opposition teams can fall with regularity.
West Brom, who have lost more games than they’ve won away from home this season, will have to take their chances against a Millwall team that have proven tough to break down in recent weeks.
Carlos Corberan’s side will likely need to rely on two players who have emerged as the shining lights in the second half of the season: Tom Fellows and Mikey Johnston.
Youth product Fellows is now a regular name on the team sheet and has four goals and three assists in the Championship since January. Meanwhile, Celtic loanee Johnston has scored five goals in West Brom’s last six league matches and has made a habit of frequently cutting in off the flank and letting rip to great effect.
Millwall fans will need no reminder that Jed Wallace will also be among the West Brom players looking to pounce.
The last two games between these sides have ended goalless with Jake Cooper and Ryan Leonard particularly impressive during September’s 0-0 draw at the Hawthorns when Zian Flemming missed a first half penalty.
The Lions have a good record against Albion and have only lost one of their last nine games in all competitions. Like all EFL clubs, Millwall face a double-header this weekend and go to Rotherham United on bank holiday Monday.
– Stat Station –
- Millwall have a good recent record on Good Friday post-Covid, beating Rotherham in 2021, drawing 1-1 at Preston North End in 2022 in a game that saw Murray Wallace score at both ends before a goalless draw with Luton at The Den last year.
- A win tomorrow would continue the Lions’ recent sequence of beating teams at home (Watford and Birmingham) who they had previously drawn with away from home earlier this season.
- Ryan Longman could make his 100th Championship appearance if he plays tomorrow.
- West Brom have not dropped out of the play-off positions since November 25.
- Jed Wallace scored for the Baggies in their last game before the international break, a 2-0 win over Bristol City. That ended a 15-match streak without a goal for the midfielder.
Elsewhere…
The most relevant game to the relegation fight on Good Friday is the one at Loftus Road where the two sides sat just above the dotted line, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City, go head-to-head.
Sheffield Wednesday will fancy their chances at home to Swansea City while Stoke City and Plymouth Argyle, both on 41 points, have tough away matches at Hull City and Norwich City respectively.
Injury List (4)
Kevin Nisbet – hamstring – last match: vs Preston – January 27 – Mid-April return expected
Tom Bradshaw – Achilles – last match: vs Southampton – February 24 – Mid-April return expected
Aidomo Emakhu – quad – last match: vs Blackburn – March 5 – Could return
George Saville – calf – last match: vs Leeds – March 17 – Could be fit
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Suspension Watch – players with two or more yellows so far (15 yellow cards accumulated before the end of the regular season will result in a three game suspension).
Jake Cooper – 9 (booked against Middlesbrough, Swansea, Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Leicester, Stoke, Norwich and Leeds)
George Saville – 8 (booked against Stoke, Watford, Sheffield Wednesday (x2), Coventry, Sunderland and Leicester, and Ipswich)
Ryan Leonard – 8 (booked against Plymouth, Cardiff, Norwich, Bristol City, Ipswich, Watford, Birmingham and Leeds)
George Honeyman – 8 (booked against Ipswich, QPR, Norwich, Middlesbrough, Preston, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton and Leeds)
Murray Wallace – 6 (booked against Plymouth, Southampton, Coventry, Leicester, QPR and Hull)
Zian Flemming – 6 (booked against Watford (x2), Ipswich, QPR, Preston and Leeds)
Danny McNamara – 5 (booked against West Brom, Plymouth, Hull, Ipswich and Watford)
Wes Harding – 4 (booked against Birmingham, Hull, Leicester and Stoke)
Brooke Norton-Cuffy – 4 (booked against Birmingham, Plymouth, Watford and Bristol City)
Ryan Longman – 4 (booked against Rotherham, Swansea, Southampton and Middlesbrough)
Joe Bryan – 4 (booked against Middlesbrough (x2), Hull and Birmingham)
Billy Mitchell – 3 (booked against Norwich, Stoke and QPR)
Casper De Norre – 3 (booked against Hull (x2) and Ipswich)
Japhet Tanganga – 3 (booked against Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton and Blackburn)
Shaun Hutchinson – 2 (booked against Bristol City and Cardiff)
Aidomo Emakhu – 2 (booked against Preston and QPR)
Duncan Watmore – 2 (booked against Sunderland and Norwich)