It’s Friday night football in the Sky Bet Championship this week, as Millwall entertain Nottingham Forest in a 7:45 kick-off at The Den.
Current state of the sides
Forest had been thriving in a good run of form, before a surprising defeat last time out to Cardiff City. They still see themselves sat in 4th place but are 8 points off the automatic promotion spots.
Millwall still see themselves sitting in the bottom half, however they are unbeaten in four, including a well fought victory over rivals Charlton and a tidy 1-0 win away at Swansea. Gary Rowett has got The Lions ticking since taking over in October, with fans now believing they could have an outside chance of getting into the play-offs, after taking 11 points from a possible 18 so far under the new boss.
The competitiveness of the Sky Bet Championship is evident here with only 6 points between the two clubs, but a solid 9-place difference.
Millwall edge in head-to-head
Millwall have had the upper hand in this corresponding fixture for the last two seasons, winning 2-0 in March 2018 and 1-0 in December 2018. Forest haven’t won at The Den in the league since 2013 so will be in for a hard graft if they want to come away with all 3.
The boss has limited options going into this one, with key names Shaun Hutchinson, Ryan Leonard and Jason McCarthy, looking to all still be unavailable for Millwall.
Gaffer’s thoughts
Rowett is still quietly confident going into the game, however, but accepts the threat that Forest offer,
“They have lots of good players, but I think particularly in forward areas they’ve got the ability to win games and open you up.
“They’re a very good side on the transition and counter-attack so we have to be mindful of that. We’re going to have to be wary of what they’re going to try and do and make sure we don’t open up too many spaces too early in the game.” (NewsAtDen)
Reds manager, Sabri Lamouchi, has Carl Jenkinson and Yohan Benalouane imminent to return from injury, though it’s not clear yet whether they’ll make an appearance on Friday. Alfa Semedo is available, however, after making a return substitute appearance against Cardiff last week.
