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Championship
Feb 14, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
Millwall logo

1-0

Mowatt (39')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Preview: Leeds United vs. Millwall

Sports Mole looks ahead to Saturday's Championship clash between relegation rivals Leeds United and Millwall at Elland Road.

Leeds United and Millwall will both be looking to continue their respective improved form when they meet at Elland Road in the Championship this weekend.

The hosts have opened up a five-point gap over Saturday's opponents, who continue to occupy the final relegation spot with just 16 matches of the season to go.

Leeds returned to winning ways at the first time of asking on Tuesday, bouncing back from their weekend defeat at home to Brentford with a 2-0 victory over Reading.

That saw them climb up to 17th in the table and, while they are still far from out of the woods in terms of the relegation battle, they are also now just three points off the top half following a run of only one defeat in their last six games.

Indeed, they have won three of their last four outings, including a shock victory against high-flying Bournemouth and a 2-1 triumph over fierce rivals Huddersfield Town.

Neil Redfearn will still be concerned about his side's home form, however, with that win over Bournemouth their solitary success at Elland Road in their last five matches - a run which has seen them score only two goals.

Their record on their own patch against Millwall is a good one, though, having won their last four and seven of their last eight meetings at Elland Road.

The hosts could be further boosted by the returns of Rodolph Austin and Gaetano Berardi from illness, although Tommaso Bianchi could miss the remainder of the season having picked up a knee injury during the midweek victory over Reading.

Liam Cooper will also be unavailable for Redfearn, while Sam Byram is expected to continue in his more advanced role on the right side of midfield.

Millwall's own improvement has raised hopes that they can avoid the drop, with two wins from their last three games and only one defeat in their four most recent outings representing a significant upturn in form.

They remain in the bottom three but, with only goal difference separating them from 21st-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, they will have a chance to climb away from danger should the Seagulls fail to get maximum points away to Sheffield Wednesday.

The Lions have kept three clean sheets in their last four games and also kept Leeds at bay when these two sides met in the reverse fixture on the opening day of the season, with Mark Beevers and Shaun Williams on the scoresheet in a 2-0 victory for Ian Holloway's side.

They followed that up with a win over Fulham, which for a long time was their one and only away success of the season. However, Millwall have improved on the road over the past month or so and have now won three of their last five away games, including their two most recent ones.

The Lions last pulled off three away wins in a row at the tail end of last season to help them escape the clutches of relegation, and Holloway will be hoping for a similar run of form this time around.

The visitors could opt to name an unchanged side to the one that beat Birmingham City 1-0 last time out - their first win at St Andrew's since 1968 - with Stefan Maierhofer again expected to lead the line.

Leeds:

Recent form: DDWWLW

Possible starting lineup: Silvestri; Berardi, Bamba, Bellusci, Taylor; Murphy, Austin, Byram, Cook, Mowatt; Morison

Millwall:

Form in Championship: WLDWLW
Form in all competitions: LLDWLW

Possible starting lineup: Forde; Cummings, Dunne, Hooiveld, Harding; Tonge, Williams, Martin, Fabbrini, Woolford; Maierhofer

Sports Mole says: 1-1


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Written by
Barney Corkhill
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