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Attendance: 22,515

Championship | Gameweek 27

Jan 11, 2020 at 3pm UK

Stoke Stoke City
0-0
Millwall

Preview: Stoke City vs. Millwall - prediction, team news, lineups

By Sean Wilson | 09 January 2020

Sports Mole previews the Championship clash between West Bromwich Albion and Brentford, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Relegation-threatened Stoke City host high-flying Millwall as both sides look to take a big step towards their respective objectives for the season.

The Potters are just one point clear of the drop while Millwall are a point off the playoffs, and a win for either would be a major boost.

Match preview

Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill on December 7, 2019 © Reuters

Stoke's recent form has been patchy, winning three of their last six league games, but the points they have picked up have proved enough to lift them out of the relegation zone after a disastrous start to the campaign.

The Potters did not win in their first 10 Championship games, losing eight of those fixtures as they sank towards the bottom of the table.

Five of the club's seven league wins have come since the appointment of Michael O'Neill, who replaced Nathan Jones in November.

The reverse fixture between these two in late October ended in a 2-0 win for Millwall in London, and Stoke will be hopeful of preventing their opponents from recording a league double over them.

Millwall, on the other hand, are in fine form as they mount an unexpected playoff charge after an unremarkable start to the season.

The club have lost just once in their last 12 games across all competitions - a surprising 2-1 home defeat to Barnsley, mired in the relegation zone.

Former Stoke head coach Gary Rowett has overseen just two defeats since he replaced long-serving boss Neil Harris, who left to join Cardiff City in place of Neil Warnock.

Their strong form sees the club seventh in the table and just three points behind third-placed Brentford, meaning that a win could well lift them into the top six.

Stoke City Championship form: WDLWLW
Stoke City form (all competitions): DLWLWL

Millwall Championship form: WWLDWW
Millwall form (all competitions): WLDWWW

Team News

Millwall manager Gary Rowett pictured on October 26, 2019 © Reuters

Stoke head coach O'Neill is blessed with an almost fully-fit squad to choose from.

Only Ryan Shawcross - a long-term absentee - is missing for the Potters, meaning that O'Neill has plenty of options available.

Millwall manager Rowett, on the other hand, has a few more men sidelined through injury. Ben Thompson, Tom Elliott, Ryan Leonard and Frank Fielding are all struggling for fitness.

However, he has an otherwise fully-fit squad outside of those four.

Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Butland; Smith, Batth, Lindsay, Martins Indi; Allen, Powell, Clucas; Campbell, Vokes, McClean

Millwall possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski; Hutchinson, Pearce, Cooper; Romeo, Molumby, Williams, Ferguson; Wallace, Smith, O'Brien

We say: Stoke City 0-0 Millwall

Both sides are in decent form and, while Millwall are the better side at present, Stoke have plenty riding on this fixture as well. Coupled with home advantage, the hosts may battle to just their fourth league draw of the season.

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 win with a probability of 45.8%. A win for had a probability of 27.68% and a draw had a probability of 26.5%.

The most likely scoreline for a win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9%) and 2-0 (8.57%). The likeliest win was 0-1 (8.78%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.56%).