Two of the Championship's form sides will do battle in London on Saturday, as Millwall welcome Sheffield United to The Den.
Thanks to a nine-game unbeaten run, the visitors have climbed into the top six of the league table, while the Lions have also won their last three matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
After an inconsistent start to the new year saw Millwall drop into the bottom half of the Championship table, the Lions have seemingly rediscovered their form recently, climbing back up to 12th as a result.
Gary Rowett's men firstly followed up a 3-0 defeat to Fulham with a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Cardiff City, with Murray Wallace and Mason Bennett on the scoresheet, before Bennett again found the net alongside Tyler Burey in a 2-0 defeat of high-flying Queens Park Rangers at The Den.
The London outfit were able to make it three wins on the bounce on Wednesday, despite facing the tough task of a trip to a hard-working Derby County side, as Jed Wallace and Burey had them two goals ahead before they eventually saw out a 2-1 win.
Having now risen back into a tight top half, Rowett's men have the chance to move up a further two spots and close the gap between themselves and their sixth-placed opponents to six points if they can secure a fourth straight three-point haul at the weekend.
© Reuters
After a slow start to the season under Slavisa Jokanovic, Sheffield United look a new side with Paul Heckingbottom at the helm, with the Blades now finding themselves in a strong position in the playoff race.
In his 13 Championship games in charge, the South Yorkshire outfit have earned 30 points, and they have rebounded from a solitary defeat to Derby County and a disappointing draw with Preston North End in impressive fashion, having stretched an unbeaten run to seven games heading into Saturday, with four victories coming from their last six games.
After consecutive goalless draws in Yorkshire derbies with Huddersfield Town and Hull City, the Blades now come into the weekend's trip on the back of two straight wins, having firstly thrashed Swansea City 4-0 at home last Saturday thanks to a Morgan Gibbs-White brace, a Billy Sharp goal and an eye-catching strike from George Baldock.
They welcomed third-placed Blackburn Rovers to Bramall Lane most recently, and, with the visitors having a penalty and the Blades reduced to 10 men with the majority of the second half to go, their situation looked bleak, only for Wes Foderingham to save the spot kick and Ben Davies to net the winning goal in the 92nd minute, securing an unlikely 1-0 win in the circumstances.
That continuation of their fine form has seen the Blades move into the playoff spots after a dramatic climb, but, with just a one-point lead over seventh-placed Middlesbrough, they will know that they must keep picking up results, despite a tough trip looming this Saturday.
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Millwall continue to be without several players through injury, as Sheyi Ojo, Tom Bradshaw and Ryan Leonard are sidelined alongside Sheffield United loanees Luke Freeman and Oliver Burke, who would be ineligible to feature anyway.
After an impressive performance in midweek, Rowett may opt to field an unchanged lineup, with the introduction of midfielder George Saville being one of the only alterations for the Derby clash.
Alongside Mason Bennett and talisman Jed Wallace, 21-year-old Tyler Burey should continue to operate in the front line, having found the net in each of their last two outings.
The Blades have also been dealt several injury blows recently, as strikers Rhian Brewster and David McGoldrick, wing-back Jayden Bogle and key centre-back Chris Basham have all been ruled out for the remainder of the season, while Jack O'Connell and Enda Stevens continue to be out indefinitely.
In the absence of Basham, Brentford loanee Charlie Goode made his first start last time out, but, after his red card, he will be suspended for Saturday's trip, leaving Ben Davies and Jack Robinson to flank John Egan in the back three.
John Fleck and Conor Hourihane will battle to join Ollie Norwood in the engine room, while Sander Berge should again join Morgan Gibbs-White in a more advanced role after impressing in recent weeks behind marksman Billy Sharp.
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski; Hutchinson, Cooper, M Wallace; McNamara, Mitchell, Saville, Malone; J Wallace; Bennett, Burey
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Davies, Egan, Robinson; Baldock, Norwood, Fleck, Norrington-Davies; Gibbs-White, Berge; Sharp
We say: Millwall 1-1 Sheffield United
While Sheffield United may usually be favourites considering their eye-catching form and strong squad, they have been hit by a few blows recently, and, with The Den a notoriously tough place to visit, they may be content with a share of the spoils against a Millwall side also carrying momentum.
Top tip
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 37.19%. A win for Sheffield United had a probability of 34.11% and a draw had a probability of 28.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Millwall win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.71%) and 2-0 (7.04%). The likeliest Sheffield United win was 0-1 (11.51%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.32%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Millwall in this match.
