JUST IN: Millwall vs. Portsmouth – ‘New’ kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
Portsmouth will look to claim back-to-back victories when they travel to the Den for Saturday’s Championship clash with Millwall.
Pompey are sitting in 17th place in the Championship standings, while the Lions are six points better off in 13th position.
Match preview
Millwall have struggled for consistency in recent times, having followed each of their previous three victories with defeats in their last six league matches.
The Lions recorded their most recent victory in a home game against Stoke City, before they fell to a narrow defeat in last Saturday’s away meeting with Sunderland.
Trai Hume’s 20th-minute effort proved enough to condemn Millwall to back-to-back away defeats without troubling the scorers.
While they would have been disappointed with that result, the Lions may still believe that they have an outside chance of mounting a playoff push, with six points separating them from the top six ahead of the final seven games of the season.
Millwall will be looking forward to returning to the Den, where they will have the chance to record consecutive home league victories for the first time since November.
The Lions have won each of their previous five meetings with Portsmouth, including 1-0 victories in August’s EFL Cup clash and January’s reverse league fixture.
Like their hosts, Portsmouth have experienced mixed results in recent weeks, with their last five matches producing two wins and three defeats.
After losing to Luton Town, Pompey went on to pull off an eye-catching victory over promotion-chasing Leeds United, before they fell to consecutive 2-1 defeats against Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End.
John Mousinho’s side returned to winning ways in last Saturday’s home clash against Blackburn Rovers, clinching a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to Josh Murphy’s 20th-minute effort, ensuring that Pompey will head into the weekend with a five-point buffer to the bottom three.
Portsmouth will have their work cut out to extend that gap this weekend, considering that they have lost nine of their previous 10 away league games (W1).
Pompey have struggled defensively on their travels this season with 43 goals conceded in their 19 Championship road matches, giving them the joint-worst defensive away record in the division.
Nevertheless, they will still harbour hopes of beating Millwall for the first time since recording a narrow 1-0 victory at the Den in October 2010.
Millwall Championship form:
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Millwall form (all competitions):
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Portsmouth Championship form:
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Team News
Millwall are without the services of Danny McNamara, Callum Scanlon, Camiel Neghli, Duncan Watmore and Femi Azeez due to injury.
Raees Bangura-Williams is also expected to miss a second consecutive game with an ankle injury that he sustained while away with the England Elite League Squad (formerly Under-20s).
Goalkeeper Liam Roberts will serve the final game of a six-match ban following his horror challenge on Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta in last month’s FA Cup clash.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon Hayden Matthews, Ibane Bowat, Jacob Farrell, Paddy Lane and Callum Lang for the rest of the season.
Australian forward Kusini Yengi is back in contention after he missed the win over Blackburn with a small injury that he picked up while on international duty.
Conor Shaughnessy and Rob Atkinson are closing in on a return to fitness, but they will not be ready for Saturday’s contest.
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Crama, Tanganga, Cooper, Bryan; Cundle, De Norre, Mitchell, Emakhu; Connolly, Coburn
Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Schmid; Swanson, Poole, Ogilvie, Bramall; Potts, Dozzell; Ritchie, Aouchiche, Murphy; Bishop
We say: Millwall 2-1 Portsmouth
Millwall have tended to fare well in meetings with Portsmouth, and we think that they will claim a sixth consecutive head-to-head victory by making full use of home advantage to record a narrow win in Saturday’s contest.
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