Millwall v. Cardiff City - Match Preview

The Lions' Cup semi-final victory over Sunderland at Old Trafford on Sunday capped a tremendous first season in charge for player/boss Dennis Wise, who is in control of a club who harbour realistic ambitions of promotion to the Premiership. Tim Cahill's first team strike against the Black Cats also secured that Millwall will represent England in the Uefa Cup next season, due to fellow finalists Manchester United already having qualified for the European Cup due to a top four Premiership finish.

Millwall currently occupy the final play-off spot in the First Division table, on 63 points. However, their F.A Cup run means they have two games in hand over most of their fellow play-off contenders. City's trio of league victories on the bounce mean we still are in with a chance of finishing with a place in the top six, and it's amazing to look at the table and see that three points in South-East London tomorrow will take the Bluebirds only two points away from a place in play-off zone.

Cardiff's four injury concerns going into the game at the New Den all look likely to play, with Daniel Gabbidon, stand-in skipper Tony Vidmar, veteran John Robinson and left-winger Paul Parry all recovered from minor knocks picked up during the win against Gillingham at the Priestifled Stadium. This means Lennie Lawrence is likely to name an unchanged side from Saturday. Rhys Weston, Peter Thorne, Graham Kavanagh and Willie Boland are all still some way away from returning to the starting line-up.

Millwall are the form team in the division having won 5 of their last 6 competitive matches, and are unbeaten since beginning of March. There home form is incredible, with no defeats at the New Den fortress since December. However, Dennis Wise's side are sure to be emotionally and physically drained after qualifying for the final of the worlds greatest cup competition, which will mean City stand a good chance against the high-flying Lions. An air of confidence has returned at Ninian Park, with three league wins on the bounce keeping play-off hopes alive, and a win tomorrow would give City a real fighting chance of being involved in the end-of-season lottery.

The hosts have a few concerns ahead of Cardiff's visit. Skipper Kevin Muscat and highly-rated winger Paul Ifill are both out after picking up injuries against Sunderland during Sunday's FA Cup clash, and Dennis Wise is also a doubt after needing stitches in a knee injury, meaning the former Chelsea midfielder is likely to start from the bench. Injuries mean Peter Sweeney and Andy Roberts could come into the starting XI for Millwall, with on-loan Everton attacker Nick Chadwick also in contention. The impressive Andy Marshall retains his place in goal, after keeping a clean-sheet against Mick McCarthy's side on the weekend.

With one eye already on May's Cup final against Manchester United, the young and vastly inexperienced Millwall side may struggle to find the motivation for the game against the Bluebirds. However, the Cup heroes showed commitment and passion against City earlier in the season, taking all three points at Ninian Park with a fine 3-1 victory. Dennis Wise will undoubtedly be looking for his side to complete a double over us, which would leave his side in a great position to clinch a top six finish, and the bookies clearly think this is on the cards making Millwall 10/11 favourites. An away win, a great bet in my opinion, is priced at 5/2 with the honours even finish offered at 11/5.

The site has recieved a number of e-mails from supporters fearing trouble at the game tomorrow. The atmosphere at this fixture is usually intense, mainly due to the reputation both sets of fans carry, and Millwall's recent headline-grabbing victory will mean a bumper crowd at the Den tomorrow. However, a large police presence will be at the game and Millwall have introduced new walk-ways at the ground to try and combat the threat of hooliganism, so hopefully there will not be a repeat of the crowd trouble that marred our last trip to London, the 1-0 defeat against West Ham United. It's coaches only for City supporters, with a smaller following that usual expected to make the trip.

Enjoy the game.

Bluebird to the Bone Prediction - Millwall 0-1 Cardiff City
Normally you wouldn't see City getting much against a hard-working Millwall outfit, but with clubs often suffering F.A Cup hangovers, I predict an away win tomorrow. Robert Earnshaw to put his penalty miss on Saturday behind him with a goal.

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