Bournemouth take on Millwall in the Championship on Tuesday, with this representing a fixture which has been rescheduled from its original Boxing Day slot due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Millwall squad.
The two sides appear to have different aims this season, with Bournemouth fighting for an automatic promotion slot, and Millwall increasingly looking over their shoulders at the relegation positions in the table.
Match preview
© Reuters
Bournemouth have had an excellent start to life under Jason Tindall, who replaced Eddie Howe as manager after the club's relegation from the Premier League last season.
The Cherries currently occupy third spot in the table, but a win against Millwall on Tuesday would see them move ahead of Swansea City into the second automatic promotion spot with the same amount of games played.
Tindall made 10 changes from the side which beat Stoke City 1-0 last weekend when beating Oldham Athletic 4-1 in the FA Cup third round, with Joshua King's brace adding gloss to David Brooks and Rodrigo Riquelme's strikes either side of half time.
Like many sides which are relegated from the Premier League, and subsequently receive parachute payments to help them financially cushion the blow, Bournemouth have enviable squad depth compared to many of their opponents in England's second tier, which could prove crucial in helping them instantly return to the top flight.
© Reuters
Having finished eighth in two of the previous three seasons, many fans and neutrals alike felt this could be the season which Millwall finally ended their long wait of competing in the Premier League.
However, a series of draws has stunted The Lions' hopes of achieving this, with Gary Rowett's side only taking 25 points from 21 games so far this campaign.
We have seen sides in worse positions at this stage of the season go on to achieve promotion, but in reality Millwall are simply not scoring enough goals to compete at the top end of the league. Indeed, their games have been a hard watch at times this season, with Rowett's side both scoring and conceding less than one goal per game on average, with all 10 of their draws ending 0-0 or 1-1.
One player Rowett would certainly have been hoping for more from is Troy Parrott, with the promising striker brought in on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window to provide more of a goal threat in attacking areas. However, the Republic of Ireland international is yet to score in any of his nine league appearances for the club this season.
Bournemouth Championship form: DWWDLW
Bournemouth form (all competitions): WWDLWW
Millwall Championship form: LDLWDL
Millwall form (all competitions): DLWDLW
Team News
© Reuters
Bournemouth welcomed right-back Jack Stacey back to the side in the cup win against Oldham after the 24-year-old's knee injury had ruled him out of action since November.
Tindall appears to be in the enviable position of having no injury issues to contend with now, with King's first goals of the season in the cup win making him a real option once again.
Millwall, meanwhile, saw a player of their own return in the FA Cup win at Boreham Wood in the shape of Kenneth Zohore after a calf injury had kept the striker out since November.
With his side desperately struggling to score goals, Rowett will be delighted to have his experienced target man back as an option, but may ease him into things.
Murray Wallace is suspended after being sent off in injury time in the league defeat to Coventry City, with Scott Malone likely to come into the side at left-back.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Smith, S. Cook, Simpson, Kelly, Rico; Brooks, L. Cook, Lerma, Stanislas; Solanke
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski; Romeo, Hutchinson, Cooper, Malone; Woods, Williams; Wallace, Bradshaw, Bennett; Bodvarsson
We say: Bournemouth 1-0 Millwall
With Bournemouth much more defensively solid under Tindall, we can envisage a tight victory for the Cherries as they continue their march to promotion.
Dominic Solanke should be fresh having been rested at the weekend, with the striker looking full of confidence and quality at this level.
Top betting tip
Brett Curtis
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Millwall win with a probability of 36.59%. A win for Bournemouth had a probability of 35.95% and a draw had a probability of 27.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Millwall win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.94%) and 0-2 (6.57%). The likeliest Bournemouth win was 1-0 (10.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.99%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 13% likelihood.
