MILLWALL’s year begins at Bristol City as two clubs with their tails up look to kick 2024 off in the right way.
The Lions will begin the first few hours of January with some uncharacteristic optimism after victories over Queens Rangers and Norwich saw the club string together back-to-back wins for the first time in nine months.
Six points over four days was just the tonic needed after a first half of the season that was overburdened with errors, flat performances and inconsistency.
The statement win over the Canaries – in a game that saw the cartoonish villainy of Ashley Barnes turbo-charge The Den – felt like a potential turning point in the campaign. Few expect Millwall to suddenly deliver great performances every week and be challenging for the play-offs just yet but Joe Edwards will be hoping his most fruitful period as Lions boss so far can be a blueprint for the rest of the season.
Manager Liam Manning will be hoping to pop Millwall’s new year bubble and keep up the impressive form his Bristol City have gradually been showing.
The 38-year-old manager, one of Britain’s brightest young coaches, was plucked from League One Oxford United to replace Nigel Pearson in November.
Results were shaky in the opening weeks but three wins over 10 days in December – followed by Friday’s 0-0 draw at Birmingham – suggests he is quickly getting to grips with the Robins.
They begin 2024 just three points away from the play-offs with a side that appear increasingly dynamic and capable of goals. Boxing Day’s stunning 4-1 away win at Watford showed the potential brewing in this side.
With both clubs enjoying some momentum, the match at Ashton Gate promises to be better than the dreadful reverse fixture at The Den in August.
The match had been heading towards the most uneventful 0-0 draw you’ve ever seen before Matty James popped up with a spectacular acrobatic effort to win it deep in stoppage time.
Millwall are best advised to not afford any Bristol City player the same courtesy of so much space in the box at any point during the 90 minutes tomorrow.
There’s a few players that could hurt the Lions with former Wycombe star Anis Mehmeti enjoying arguably his best run in the team since joining the Robins last January.
A shocking miss against Birmingham aside, the 22-year-old has looked dangerous in front of goal in recent weeks and scored in the 3-2 win against Hull City just before Christmas.
Veteran striker Nahki Wells has dealt with injuries this season and only has three goals in all competitions but will have to be watched closely. Other attacking players like Mark Sykes, Jason Knight and Tommy Conway all have the ability to cause problems also.
Goals come from everywhere with Bristol City with six different goalscorers contributing to their 3-2 win over Hull and 4-1 win over Watford over four days.
Millwall will be without Wes Harding for a second game running due to his hamstring strain while George Saville begins his three-game suspension after the Lions’ appeal against his red card from the Norwich game was rejected.
George Honeyman has begun the last two games in central midfield alongside Saville and has proved to be a energetic and punchy addition. If he continues on in that role, Edwards is likely to turn to either Billy Mitchell or Allan Campbell to come in alongside him.
The quick turnaround in games means there could be changes elsewhere in the team. Along with the suspended Saville, Ryan Leonard, Jake Cooper, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and George Honeyman have started all three games against Stoke City, QPR and Norwich over nine days and any of them could be due for a rest.
Meanwhile, Aidomo Emakhu will be looking to start a third Lions game in a row for the first time in his career and continue his strong festive form into the new year.
Millwall have won three of their last four games at Ashton Gate with their only defeat in this period coming almost exactly two years ago, on January 2 2022, when Andreas Weimann hit a hat-trick in a 3-2 win.
Stat Station
- The Lions have won their last three games on New Year’s Day (3-0 over Rotherham, 3-1 over Luton Town and 3-2 away at Ipswich) but lost their last two on January 2 (3-2 to Bristol City and 2-1 to Coventry).
- Having scored Millwall’s first goal of the calendar year against Rotherham United in a 3-0 win on January 1, Tom Bradshaw also scored Millwall’s last goal of 2023 against Norwich City. It was his 16th goal of the calendar year.
- Bradshaw, who has scored three times in the last five games, netted in back-to-back matches by scoring against QPR and then Norwich. It is the first time he scored in consecutive games since March. He also has a good record against Bristol City with four goals against the Robins and three of them coming at Ashton Gate.
- With Wes Harding missing the game against the Canaries with injury, it leaves Brooke Norton-Cuffy as the only man who has started every game under Joe Edwards.
- Speaking of the Arsenal loanee, he now has four goal contributions in his last 10 games (two goals and two assists), double what he managed across 41 appearances last season on loan at Rotherham United and Coventry City (two assists).
- George Saville’s sending off means Millwall’s run of 141 league games without a red card has ended. The previous red was Murray Wallace’s dismissal against Coventry in a 2-1 loss almost exactly three years ago.
- Millwall will be hunting a hat-trick of consecutive wins for the first time since October 2022 and four clean sheets in a row for the first time since March 2022.
- Of the Lions’ 25 league games so far this season, they have only been losing at half-time in five of them.
- Millwall have managed four games unbeaten for the first time this season after the win over Norwich.
- Bristol City have won four of their last five home games.
- Tommy Conway has scored from the penalty spot in three of Bristol City’s last four home games.
- Liam Manning and Joe Edwards have both been in charge for 10 games of their sides respectively. Manning’s record: Won 4, Drawn 3, Lost 3. Edwards’ record: Won 3, Drawn 3, Lost 4.
Injury List
Casper De Norre – calf – last match: vs Ipswich – November 29 – Expected back mid-January
Wes Harding – hamstring – last match: vs QPR – December 26 – Potentially back by Leicester FA Cup game (January 6)
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Suspension Watch – players with two or more yellows so far (10 yellow cards accumulated in the first 37 games result in a two game suspension). Any player whose line is entirely in bold is suspended for the next game
Jake Cooper – 8 (booked against Middlesbrough, Swansea, Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Leicester, Stoke and Norwich)
George Saville – 6 (booked against Stoke, Watford, Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry, Sunderland and Leicester. Sent off against Norwich)
Murray Wallace – 5 (booked against Plymouth, Southampton, Coventry, Leicester and QPR)
Wes Harding – 4 (booked against Birmingham, Hull, Leicester and Stoke)
Danny McNamara – 3 (booked against West Brom, Plymouth and Hull)
Brooke Norton-Cuffy – 3 (booked against Birmingham, Plymouth and Watford)
Ryan Longman – 3 (booked against Rotherham, Swansea and Southampton)
Ryan Leonard – 3 (booked against Plymouth, Cardiff and Norwich)
George Honeyman – 3 (booked against Ipswich, QPR and Norwich)
Shaun Hutchinson – 2 (booked against Bristol City and Cardiff)
Zian Flemming – 2 (booked against Watford and Ipswich)
Casper De Norre – 2 (booked against Hull and Ipswich)
Billy Mitchell – 2 (booked against Norwich and Stoke)
Aidomo Emakhu – 2 (booked against Preston and QPR)
Duncan Watmore – 2 (booked against Sunderland and Norwich)