Friday, October 17, 2008

Leeds v Millwall match preview

This a match I've been waiting for quite some time now as Leeds visits Millwall this Saturday. Along with Leeds, Leicester City and Oldham at the end of the campaign I'm hopeful Millwall is good position for promotion. With both clubs locked in a tie only two points above Scunthorpe and Leicester City, this is an important early season test for both clubs if they are to be promoted to the Championship League.

Recent Form
Millwall - combined (4 W, D, 1 L)(8 GS, 6 GA)
Sept 13 Leicester 0 - 1 Millwall
Sept 20 Millwall 2 - 0 Cheltenham
Sept 28 Swindon 1 - 2 Millwall
Oct 4 Millwall 0 - 4 Milton Keynes Dons
Oct 11 Tranmere 1 - 3 Millwall

Millwall - home (3 W, 1 D, 1 L)(7 GS, 6 GA)
Aug 16 Millwall 1 - 1 Southend
Aug 30 Millwall 2 - 1 Huddersfield
Sept 6 Millwall 2 - 0 Hartlepool
Sept 20 Millwall 2 - 0 Cheltenham
Oct 4 Millwall 0 - 4 Milton Keynes Dons

Leeds - combined (4W, D, 1L)(9 GS, 4 GA)
Sept 13 Swindon 1 - 3 Leeds
Sept 20 Carlisle 0 - 2 Leeds
Sept 27 Leeds 1 - 0 Hereford
Oct 4 Peterborough 2 - 0 Leeds
Oct 11 Leeds 3 - 1 Brighton

Leeds - away (3 W, 1 D,1 L)(8 GS, GA)
Aug 9 Scunthorpe 1 - 2 Leeds
Aug 23 Yeovil 1 - 1 Leeds
Sept 13 Swindon 1 - 3 Leeds
Sept 20 Carlisle 0 - 2 Leeds
Oct 4 Peterborough 2 - 0 Leeds

Leeds will be taking a more defensive position in this match, looking to match the clean sheet against Carlisle. Millwall responded from their 4-0 breakdown to Milton Keynes Dons with an important confidence building victory over Tranmere. On-loan striker from Leeds Tresor Kandol has proven to be a powerful attacking force when teamed with Gary Alexander and Lewis Grabban in a 4-3-3. While Tresor Kandol is out of the lineup, they will play very aggressively against Leeds in front of their home supporters. With this in-mind Gary McAllister is likely to employ a backline of Frazer Richardson, Paul Telfer, Rui Marques and the sixteen year-old phenom Aidan White. In the midfield I expect Jonny Howson to be paired with Jonathan Douglas, Neil Kilkenny and Fabian Delph although Andy Robinson could easily fair in the lineup. The attacking combination of Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio will continue.

Elsewhere in League One on Saturday:
Scunthorpe @ Cheltenham
Leicester City @ Oldham
Milton Keynes Dons @ Crewe
Peterborough @ Carlisle
Hartlepool @ Walsall
Swindon @ Southend
Colchester @ Stockport
Bristol Rovers @ Huddersfield
Tranmere @ Leyton Orient
Yeovil @ Northampton
Hereford @ Brighton


League One
PWDLGSGAPts
Scunthorpe 10 7 1 2 21 9 22
Leicester City 9 7 1 1 17 5 22
Oldham 10 6 3 1 24 12 21
Leeds United 10 6 2 2 19 12 20
Millwall 10 6 2 2 16 12 20
Milton Keynes Dons 10 6 0 4 19 10 18
Peterborough 10 5 2 3 18 13 17
Walsall 10 5 2 3 16 12 17
Southend 10 5 2 3 16 15 17
Stockport 10 3 6 1 13 10 15
Bristol Rovers 11 3 4 4 22 20 13
Carlisle 10 4 1 5 17 17 13
Northampton 10 3 4 3 15 15 13
Tranmere 10 4 1 5 17 19 13
Huddersfield 10 3 3 4 15 16 12
Hartlepool 10 3 2 5 16 16 11
Brighton 10 2 5 3 13 16 11
Cheltenham 11 3 2 6 17 29 11
Swindon 10 2 3 5 14 20 9
Leyton Orient 10 2 3 5 8 17 9
Colchester 10 2 2 6 14 21 8
Yeovil 9 1 4 4 9 17 7
Crewe 10 2 1 7 13 24 7
Hereford 10 1 2 7 7 19 5