Millwall vs Bristol City predictions: Nothing to separate play-off hopefuls
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- Millwall are 12th, seven points off the play-off positions
- Bristol City can move level on points with sixth-placed West Brom with a win
- Recommended bet: Draw
Fresh from their FA Cup exit at the hands of Crystal Palace, Millwall will turn their attention back to the bread and butter of the Championship when they welcome fellow play-off hopefuls Bristol City to The Den on Tuesday.
Millwall put on a spirited display at Selhurst Park on Saturday, playing much of the match with 10 men following goalkeeper Liam Roberts' early red card, as they eventually succumbed to a 3-1 defeat.
While the Lions were in cup action, Bristol City had the weekend off and Liam Manning will be hoping his side, who sit just three points outside of the play-off positions, will be refreshed for their trip to the capital.
Team news
Roberts will be suspended for this match after his sending off against Palace, but he was unlikely to feature anyway, given Lukas Jensen has been Millwall’s first-choice goalkeeper in the league.
Lions head coach Alex Neil remains without injured quartet Calum Scanlon (hamstring), Macaulay Langstaff (unspecified), Danny McNamara (knee) and Ryan Leonard (calf).
As for Bristol City, hamstring injuries will continue to rule out both Ayman Benarous and Ross McCrorie, while defender Luke McNally's season is over due to a serious knee issue.
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The stats
Millwall can move within four points of the play-off positions with victory in this game and they have only lost one of their last eight Championship games.
Bristol City are four points and three places better off than the Lions, but they are without a win in any of their last nine away matches in the league, although four of their previous five road games have ended all-square.
The Robins have only won on one of their last five league trips to The Den, although that victory did come in last season's corresponding fixture — Matty James scoring the only goal in a 1-0 success.
After winning this season's reverse meeting 4-3 at Ashton Gate, Bristol City are bidding to do the league double over Millwall for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Prediction
There will be plenty at stake at The Den, as although Bristol City appear the better placed of these two sides to challenge for a top-six finish, Millwall could move to within a point of the Robins and four of the play-off places, with a victory.
Millwall have certainly become harder to beat since Neil's arrival as head coach in late December and they are unbeaten in their last three home games, although two of those have ended in draws.
Bristol City would already be in the top six if they could improve their away record, as they are without a road win in the league since triumphing at Norwich in early November.
However, four of their last five trips have ended in draws and it is just two defeats in 12 league games all told for the Robins.
With Millwall having lost just once in eight in the league, this has all the makings of a fiercely competitive game that could finish all-square — keeping both sides on the periphery of the play-off picture.
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