MATCH THREAD: " CARDIFF CITY v MILLWALL " MATCH THREAD

CARDIFF CITY v MILLWALL
Thursday 26th December, 3pm
SkyBet Championship
Cardiff City Stadium 

Cardiff City XI: Etheridge; Peltier, Flint, Nelson, Bennett; Bacuna, Pack; Mendez-Laing, Tomlin, Hoilett; Glatzel

Subs: Smithies, Bamba, Richards, Vaulks, Whyte, Paterson, Ward



Junior Hoilett is touch and go for Cardiff City's clash with Millwall today as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.

A crowd of over 25,000 is expected with it being pay on the day including approx 800 plus Millwall fans
And a 3pm kick off


Neil Harris up against his former club

Cardiff will be without midfielder Joe Ralls (hand), while Junior Hoilett (hamstring) and Joe Bennett (Achilles) are injury doubts.

Bluebirds captain Sean Morrison remains suspended, but winger Gavin Whyte could start in place of Josh Murphy.

It’s pay on the day

Joe Bennett is out injured.


Cardiff City midfielder Joe Ralls has suffered a broken hand as Bluebirds boss Neil Harris reveals rising injury troubles in the Welsh capital. Ralls will miss Millwall game.



I can't get to Cardiff City Stadium, is the match on TV?

Yes, the match is live on Sky Sports Red Button and Cardiff City TV.

About Millwall

Millwall Football Club is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in 1910. From then until 1993, the club played at what is now called The Old Den in New Cross, before moving to its current home stadium nearby, called The Den. The traditional club crest is a lion rampant, referred to in the team's nickname 'The Lions'. Millwall's traditional kit consists of blue shirts, white shorts, and blue socks.

In Millwall's 92 seasons in the Football League from 1920–21 to 2018-19, the club have been promoted eleven times (five times as champions) and relegated nine times. They have spent the majority of their existence yo-yoing between the second and third tiers of English football. The club did have a brief spell in the top flight between 1988 and 1990, in which they achieved their highest ever league finish of tenth place in the First Division in 1988–89. Millwall reached the 2004 FA Cup final and qualified for Europe for the first time in their history, playing in the UEFA Cup. The club have also won two League One play-off finals in 2010 and 2017, the Football League Group Cup in 1983, and were Football League Trophy finalists in 1999.

In the media, Millwall's supporters have often been associated with hooliganism, with numerous films having been made fictionalising their notoriety. The fans are renowned for their terrace chant "No one likes us, we don't care". Millwall have a long-standing rivalry with West Ham United. The local derby between the two sides has been contested almost a hundred times since 1899. The club also share a rivalry with Leeds United, and contest the South London derby with local rivals Crystal Palace and Charlton Athletic.

Previous Meeting

The return fixture at The New Den in October finished 2-2.

Team News - Predicted Line-Ups

Cardiff City: Etheridge, Peltier, Flint, Nelson, Richards, Pack, Bacuna, Murphy, Mendez-Laing, Tomlin, Glatzel

Millwall: Bialkowski, Romeo, Hutchinson, Cooper, Ferguson, Wallace, Molumby, Williams, Skalak, Bodvarsson, Bradshaw

Form - Last Three Games    

Cardiff City 0-0 Preston North End
Leeds United 3-3 Cardiff City
Brentford 2-1 Cardiff City

Millwall 1-2 Barnsley
Derby County 0-1 Millwall
Bristol City 1-2 Millwall

Match Odds

Cardiff City - 23/20
Millwall - 5/2
Draw - 9/4

Predictions

Post your predictions below 

It’s pay on the day

City desperately need a home win v Millwall

Neil Harries - Up For This ...

Millwall one of those teams we just struggle against

We have only won once at the den in nearly 30 years

Over the last 10 games at the Den we have drawn 7 Lost 2 Won 1.

Add that to Harris going back to his old club then I can see nothing more than a draw and probably a 0-0 bore draw aswell

Cardiff City midfielder Joe Ralls has suffered a broken hand as Bluebirds boss Neil Harris reveals rising injury troubles in the Welsh capital.

Ralls will miss Millwall game.

Millwall one of those teams we just struggle against

We have only won once at the den in nearly 30 years

Over the last 10 games at the Den we have drawn 7 Lost 2 Won 1.

Add that to Harris going back to his old club then I can see nothing more than a draw and probably a 0-0 bore draw aswell

Good job we are home then

Two Bluebirds stars were notable omissions from the squad against Preston and are likely to be out for a short period

Cardiff City midfielder Joe Ralls is set for another period on the sidelines after sustaining a broken hand, Neil Harris has confirmed.

The Bluebirds boss was keen to reintroduce Ralls as quickly as possible after he had been suffering with a groin issue for a number of weeks.

And the City star, who was brilliant in the first part of the season, was handed his first start under Harris at Elland Road last week.

However, in a massive blow to the Bluebirds, it has now transpired that he broke his hand in that encounter with Leeds and even refused to come off after being asked on three separate occasions.

Harris has previously called Ralls a 'superstar', but it appears as though the Cardiff manager will not have him at his disposal during this packed winter schedule.

“It’s a blow, we just got him back and now he will miss a period,” Harris said of Ralls.

“It is a shame as we just got him back and I have been clear he is going to be an instrumental player in my side.”

Another disappointing bulletin for the Bluebirds is that Joe Bennett is also touch and go for the Boxing Day clash with Millwall after sustaining an Achilles injury in training.

Bennett had been a mainstay at left-back this term, but an injury late in the week handed Jazz Richards his first league start in almost two years.

“He (Bennett) went down in training yesterday,” Harris added.

“Will he be ready for the Christmas period, I don’t know. We will assess him again. The Achilles is a fatigue injury.”

Millwall will be right up for this against there old boss i fear the worse, no ralls bennet holliet and murphy on the wing , if ever there was a time for bamba to come back it has to be this game instead of flint.

Going for a 1-1 draw.

Millwall will be right up for this against there old boss i fear the worse, no ralls bennet holliet and murphy on the wing , if ever there was a time for bamba to come back it has to be this game instead of flint.

I agree on the Bamba point. The team just looks like it needs a bit more leadership out there, particularly with Morrison out, so I'd replace Flint with Bamba as long as they are confident about his knee. Sometimes it's not just about how a plays as an individual but about the effect they can have on others.

Actually, on that point, did anyone notice how vocal Jazz was ? It really surprised me and something that I hadn't noticed when he's played previously.

Millwall one of those teams we just struggle against

We have only won once at the den in nearly 30 years

Over the last 10 games at the Den we have drawn 7 Lost 2 Won 1.

Add that to Harris going back to his old club then I can see nothing more than a draw and probably a 0-0 bore draw aswell

Good job we are home then

I was just making a point about games against Millwall

Home form is a similar story only 2 wins in over 30 years

The seem to be a side we struggle against home and away

1-1

Millwall one of those teams we just struggle against

We have only won once at the den in nearly 30 years

Over the last 10 games at the Den we have drawn 7 Lost 2 Won 1.

Add that to Harris going back to his old club then I can see nothing more than a draw and probably a 0-0 bore draw aswell

going back to his old club..

we are home mate.

Had me checking the fixture then, cardiff v millwall Yes its a home game.

Had me checking the fixture then, cardiff v millwall Yes its a home game.

played them up there drew 2-2
he got the draw bit correct but I wont be asking him for correct score tips for the boxing day games..

Cardiff will be without midfielder Joe Ralls (hand), while Junior Hoilett (hamstring) and Joe Bennett (Achilles) are injury doubts.

Bluebirds captain Sean Morrison remains suspended, but winger Gavin Whyte could start in place of Josh Murphy.

Had me checking the fixture then, cardiff v millwall Yes its a home game.

played them up there drew 2-2
he got the draw bit correct but I wont be asking him for correct score tips for the boxing day games..

It's pretty obvious I meant against his old club. Bit of a typo

Millwall one of those teams we just struggle against

We have only won once at the den in nearly 30 years

Over the last 10 games at the Den we have drawn 7 Lost 2 Won 1.

Add that to Harris going back to his old club then I can see nothing more than a draw and probably a 0-0 bore draw aswell

Good job we are home then

I was thinking that too

Hutchinson looking for Lions to bounce back at Cardiff
The defender has his say

24 December 2019



@MillwallFC


Shaun Hutchinson wants Millwall to rectify Saturday's defeat against Barnsley by taking three points from Cardiff City on Boxing Day.

The Lions slipped to a second home defeat of the campaign - and a first under Gary Rowett - against the basement boys after Patrick Schmidt's 94th-minute winner.

However, with games coming thick and fast over the festive period, there is no time to dwell on the loss to The Tykes, with Boxing Day's trip to Neil Harris' Bluebirds immediately on the horizon.


Speaking after the weekend's reverse, Hutchinson told of the need to make Saturday a distant memory and put in a performance to reward the travelling fans.

"I'm looking forward to it - I look forward to every game, to be honest," he said. "With the way the away form has been of late, we don't fear anyone at the moment. We know that we can go and put in a performance.

"He'll [Neil Harris] know all of our strengths and weaknesses and he'll set up a team to get three points. It's up to us to go there and get on the front foot.

"We've probably put more pressure on ourselves now with not winning at home [on Saturday], so we need to go there and try to rectify that. We need to get as many points as we can."

A crowd of over 25,000 is expected with it being pay on the day including approx 800 plus Millwall fans

A crowd of over 25,000 is expected with it being pay on the day including approx 800 plus Millwall fans

If its 25000+ then it's a great turnout from the city fans

Junior Hoilett is touch and go for Cardiff City's clash with Millwall today as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.

The Bluebirds winger was taken off just after the 20-minute mark in the defeat at Brentford, having shown some promising form in the early portion of Neil Harris's tenure as manager.

He was absent for both the trip to Leeds and the goalless draw with Preston North End last weekend, however Harris has confirmed the Canada international is back in full training and could well be in contention for this afternoon's crucial clash against Harris's former side.

Elsewhere, Joe Bennett, who had been an ever-present in this Cardiff City team this season until last weekend, is also a doubt.

The left back was this week still recovering from an Achilles problem which kept him sidelined for this first time this season against Preston. It is unknown whether today will be too soon for him.

In his stead, meanwhile, Jazz Richards was handed his first league start in almost two years and has come through that 90 minutes unscathed.

Harris deliberately left him on for the full 90 minutes in order for him to get those vital minutes into his legs as he looks to bring him up to full match sharpness amid a packed festive fixture schedule.

"It’s been a while since he’s played 90 minutes and had a run of games," Harris said of Richards.

"Expecting him to get up and go for a 10-mile job, he won’t even be on the radar.

"Mentally, for him, it was good for him to get through the 90 minutes. I could have taken him off to protect him but I wanted to leave him out there and come in with a clean sheet."

As expected, Joe Ralls is likely to be out for a number of games, with Harris aiming for the South Wales derby with Swansea City as a possible return date.

Isaac Vassell and Matthew Connolly will also continue to be absent owing to their long-term injuries.

For the opposition, they hope to have defenders Alex Pearce and Murray Wallace back after missing last weekend's game owing to illness.

Ben Thompson is also doubtful with an ankle injury, however Aiden O'Brien could be in line to start after scoring off the bench in the Barnsley defeat last Saturday.

A crowd of over 25,000 is expected with it being pay on the day including approx 800 plus Millwall fans

If its 25000+ then it's a great turnout from the city fans

It’s not really asking a lot, it’s Boxing Day every club usually sells out.

Really tough game again today... not expecting a feast of football (obviously) but prob see more of it from them now with Rowett in charge. I really think we will get picked off in this one

2-0 NML and Tomlin

Very surprised not to see Ward start... seems to be the only player who can make runs in behind. Prepared for a hugely ugly game this afternoon at least it’s stopped raining temporarily

Cardiff City XI: Etheridge; Peltier, Flint, Nelson, Bennett; Bacuna, Pack; Mendez-Laing, Tomlin, Hoilett; Glatzel

Subs: Smithies, Bamba, Richards, Vaulks, Whyte, Paterson, Ward

It’s the wrong lineup for me Glatzel doesn’t offer what Ward can

It’s already a terrible game

It’s already a terrible game

And you're already a terribly negative poster!

#BarryFraud88