NEWSATDEN looks at all of Millwall’s 23 opponents ahead of the 2017-18 Championship season.
Next up, Lucas Ball casts an eye over Bristol City.
Nickname: The Robins
Manager: Lee Johnson
Stadium: Ashton Gate (27,000)
Club website: www.bcfc.co.uk
Postcode: BS3 2EJ
Nearest train station: Parson Street
Title odds (Sky Bet): 40/1
Last Meeting: Millwall 2-1 Bristol City, January 1, 2013
Last season:
Position: 17th in Sky Bet Championship
Goals for: 60
Goals against: 66
Top league goal scorer: Tammy Abraham (23)
2017/18 Transfers:
Ins: Famara Diédhiou (£5.1 million), Eros Pisano (free transfer)
Outs: Mark Little (free transfer)
Former Barnsley manager Lee Johnson will be hoping to improve on last season’s 17th-place finish, but that won’t be easy without Tammy Abraham’s goals. He scored 23 times in the league on loan from Chelsea in 2016-17, yet still City finished just three points above the relegation zone.
Abraham was arguably one of the league’s best players last season, scoring over a third of City’s Championship goals.
Johnson spent a club-record £5.3million on a new centre-forward, Famara Diédhiou. He arrived from French top-flight club Angers, and fans at Ashton Gate may have to be patient with a player who has never experienced English football. If Diédhiou performs as well as previous record buy Jonathan Kodjia – who also signed from Angers – then the Robins can expect to climb the table next season.
Diédhiou scored nine times in 36 games for Angers last season after 22 goals in 37 appearances for second-tier Clermont in the previous campaign.
Johnson has also added experience to his defence with the capture of former Italy underage international Eros Pisano, who helped Hellas Verona to promotion to Serie A last season.
Goalkeeper Ivan Lucic and striker Gustav Engvall have returned to the club after loan spells, with Schalke’s Fabian Giefer returning to Germany following his spell in the south west.
Millwall and Bristol City have met 92 times in their history, with the Lions winning 29 games compared to the Robins’ 34 victories.
Dany N’Guessan and Tottenham loanee Adam Smith scored in a 2-1 Millwall win the last time the sides met in a Championship fixture in January 2013.
Bristol City vs. Millwall (Saturday, August 19)
Millwall vs. Bristol City (Saturday, April 7)
Graphic: @ShedCreative