Both of these sides are by far exceeding their pre-season expectations with Swansea right up there in 3rd while Millwall are sat in 11th. With that, there’s no doubt that both sides need points for different reasons with the home side looking to bridge the gap with the automatic positions while Millwall may even be thinking of a promotion bid of their own.
If there was a way to revive a managerial reputation, Brendan Rodgers looks to be doing it in emphatic fashion with the former Reading boss enjoying a superb time at Swansea. There were plenty of raised eyebrows after he got the job following a poor stint at the Madejski Stadium but Rodgers is certainly proving his doubters wrong, with the club sat in 3rd with an excellent chance of promotion. A return of thirty six points from their opening twenty games puts them within just one point of 2nd place Cardiff and with the Bluebirds playing tomorrow, victory will guarantee the Swans 2nd place if only for a few hours. They haven’t been in mind-blowing form in recent weeks, but having beaten Ipswich in their last outing they’ll certainly have at least some confidence as they aim to build on their promotion push.
Millwall are another side exceeding their expectations and while many thought the Lions would struggle after only just entering the division through the League One playoffs last term, Kenny Jackett’s men are performing superbly and they’ll be delighted with their current position of 11th. It puts them on twenty seven points, five away from the top six, although there’s no doubting that their supporters would grab the chance to finish anywhere in the top half. Just like Swansea, they also come into this game on the back of a win and after brushing aside Scunthorpe 3-0 in their last outing, this promises to be an interesting Friday night fixture.
As for team news, Swansea have a couple of problems heading into this one with Jermaine Easter and Tom Butler both set to miss out through injury. However, Garry Monk should pull through following a calf injury and slot into the middle of Brendan Rodgers’ defence. The visitors meanwhile could be without Liam Trotter who is still struggling with a thigh problem. However, Kenny Jackett is hopeful of having Kevin Lisbie available again with the striker recovering well from a knee strain.
Despite their lofty position, Swansea don’t have great form at the Liberty Stadium and for that reason we don’t think they’ll net all the points here. Millwall will provide tough opposition and with that, we don’t think there’ll be anything to separate these two here
No comments:
Post a Comment