MILLWALL head into the last game of the League One season with everything in their hands.
If the Lions can take all three points against Bristol Rovers at The Memorial Ground, they will be guaranteed a play-off spot.
Jordan Archer and Tony Craig returned to the starting XI last Saturday against Oxford, while Shane Ferguson came off the bench and should be in contention to start.
Bristol Rovers have had a successful season after returning to the third tier. Successive promotions from the National League and then League Two saw many people predict that they would struggle, but they sit comfortably in 10th.
A 4-2 loss at Peterborough last weekend ended their play-off hopes, but after a strong season there is a lot to build on.
Lucas Ball spoke to Pirates fan Alisha Wicks ahead of Sunday’s clash.
Twitter: @alishawicks
Why do you support Bristol Rovers?
My uncle was the one to not only introduce me to Bristol Rovers but to football. That was when I was around five, maybe six.
We’ve had some brilliant matches this season, such as our visit to Stamford Bridge when we played Chelsea in the EFL Cup. We lost 3-2, but our performance against a Premier League side was impressive.
Would you say that this has been a successful season after two promotions in two seasons?
No one was expecting back-to-back promotions, especially the day we were awarded the title.
Although our dream of reaching the play-offs has come to an end this season after our defeat to Peterborough, we have done brilliantly. We praise ourselves for our efforts and we will fight for the top six next season.
Originally, I don’t think we were even aiming for the top six, we just didn’t want to face relegation.
Millwall won the reverse fixture 4-0 at The Den in November, what has happened for the Pirates since then?
Since November, our form improved and it was noticed massively around February. The fixture against Walsall in January was the last match we had lost until our unbeaten streak ended when we were defeated by Bury in March.
We have one of the best home records in England. Our last home defeat was to Charlton, which was back in late November.
With main man Matty Taylor leaving in January, who will Bristol Rovers’ danger men be come Sunday?
Matty Taylor’s departure from the club to our rivals didn’t impress our fans one bit, but we moved on.
Like I have already mentioned, we had an excellent unbeaten streak for over a month and Taylor’s last game with us was Walsall. The results we were achieving proved to us that even without our top goal-scorer, we were a strong squad.
Two key players for the Lions to watch for are Billy Bodin and Rory Gaffney.
They’re both attacking players and have both done well this season. Bodin has scored 12 goals and has assisted five. He’s a skilful player and is a great finisher.
Gaffney has scored six goals and assisted four. He scored two last weekend against Peterborough, and they were great goals.
Who do you think will cause problems from the Millwall side?
I think we need to watch out for Lee Gregory in our match. He’s had a great season for himself and I feel like, personally, he’ll be one who has no hesitation to challenge our defenders.
With Steve Morison leading the line, there is always a goal-scoring threat.
What formation and line up do you expect Rovers to play?
We’ll most likely play as a 4-4-2: Joe Lumley; Joe Partington, Tom Lockyer, Ryan Sweeney, Bob Harris; Billy Bodin, Stuart Sinclair, Chris Lines, Cristian Montano; Rory Gaffney, Luke James.
Finally, what is your score prediction?
I feel like with our home form in comparison to Millwall’s away form, I want to think we’ll be the stronger side, but I’m predicting Bristol Rovers 1-1 Millwall.
Graphic: @ShedCreative