MATCHWATCH : Millwall (h)

[Sutekh]

When : Saturday 13th February 2020, 3pm
Where : Madejski Stadium, Reading, RG2 0FL
Capacity : 24,161


Saturday sees the arrival of Millwall into town for the next step in the quest for promotion. Games now are starting to sort themselves out into the handful of those that are going to be very difficult and remainder that are seen as the proverbial banana skins, all thanks to the excellent (so far) season that the squad are at last managing to put together after three seasons of utter garbage. Therefore most of the time fans are now starting to expect some sort of return which itself creates more pressure on the team, least I think it does, it's been so long since Reading were any good I can't really remember.

Millwall at home is probably going to be seen as one of the latter game types but as ever things have to be approached correctly and due respect given otherwise a cropper you shall come and Danny Baker will be lording it over us all for at least 30 minutes afterwards and we don't want that!

Sitting just below the mid table mark, Millwall are actually quite difficult to beat having drawn 14 of their 28 games to date and their season is really more or less over already. Last time out Millwall beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-1 to clock up just their second home win of the season which has really been the underlying problem that has curtailed their season, just 2 wins from 14 games at the Den isn't really what you'd expect from a Millwall team even if 9 of those games have been drawn. Millwall’s GD is 0 having scored 26 and conceded 26 which means that on average Millwall both score and concede less than 1 goal a game so it looks like it will be hard to break through.

That Sheffield win increased Millwall's unbeaten league run to 5 games and of course they haven't had rearranged game stuck in to the middle of this week to give them issues over tiredness and injuries etc. so just turning up and expecting won't be enough. In their ranks are 4 ex Reading players as well (Bod, Cooper, Evans and Pearce) so you can guess which players are going to be right up for this before a ball is even kicked.

The main threat comes from midfielder Jed Wallace who has notched 6 goals, which is 3 more than the joint second highest scorers of Tom Bradshaw and defender Scott Malone. Maikel Kieftenbeld and George Evans joined Millwall in the January window so that may go some way to explain the unbeaten run (2 wins (v Sheff Wed and at Huddersfield) and 3 draws (v Watford, Norwich & Cardiff)) that the club are now enjoying.

Millwall have doubts over Ryan Leonard and Maikel Kieftenbeld but midfielder Billy Mitchell could be in line for his first game of the season after a long injury absence. Reading are as you were with Araruna, Moore and Puscas but now have Swift due an MRI scan on a soft tissue injury and Meite crocked by a groin problem. Both are out of this game at least. Here we go again....

Lastly, a win in this game should finally ensure safety from relegation!

Referee

Mr Andrew "been around for years" Woolmer

Previously

14 Jul 20 > Reading 1-2 Middlesbrough
15 Feb 20 > Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 Reading
09 Nov 19 > Reading 3-0 Luton Town
01 Oct 19 > Reading 1-4 Fulham
19 Jan 19 > Derby County 2-0 Reading
18 Oct 16 > Reading 1-2 Aston Villa
27 Aug 16 > Cardiff City 0-1 Reading
23 Aug 14 > Nottingham Forest 4-0 Reading
08 Apr 14 > Bournemouth 3-1 Reading
29 Oct 11 > Crystal Palace 0-0 Reading
12 Apr 11 > Scunthorpe United 0-2 Reading
15 Apr 10 > Reading 3-0 Coventry City
16 Sep 08 > Reading 6-0 Sheffield Wednesday
17 Sep 05 > Reading 1-0 Crewe Alexandra

Historically

Party on! This will be the 100th league game against Millwall and therefore the 50th time Reading will have played them at home. Currently it is definitely a case of the home team ruling as Reading have won 29 of those 46 games and lost just 12 (more or less the opposite of the games at Millwall).

There is usually a stack of goals between the sides, Reading have netted 95 while Millwall have managed 48.

So it'll be a pretty useless 0-0 then.

How to follow the game

1. Listen to Radio 5 Live and/or a myriad of other radio stations for score flashes
2. Ring/text a mate for updates
3. Use an iFollow subscription
4. BBC Radio Berkshire (FM : 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4 depending where you are in the area)

Fixture Watch

The other fixtures involving teams in the top 6 this weekend:

Saturday 13th

(2nd) Norwich City v Stoke City (9th)
(18th) Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth (6th)
(21st) Sheffield Wednesday v Swansea City (3rd)
(4th) Watford v Bristol City (10th)

Sunday 14th

(1st) Brentford v Barnsley (13th)

[Zip]

This game feels too soon after this match tonight. I hope the players take it easy in the next couple of days.

[Hound]

Yep, quite often see teams get on a downer after a tough defeat in a big game and millwall just the sort of team who will thrive on that

Big bounce back needed. Obvs limited in what we can do rotation wise but suspect Olise will make way for Aluko. Maybe Holmes in for Yiadom

Very rarely feel the need to tell Pauno what to do but would like him to use the subs earlier in this - Esteves can do a job right mid, Tetek CM, onen LW. Baldock can add a bit of energy. Can really do without any more injuries.

[URZZZZ]

Millwall do seem to draw a lot of games, especially against the top 6 sides, so will be another tough graft to get 3 points. Would start with:

Rafael

Yiadom
Morrison
McIntyre
Richards

Laurent
Rinomhota

Esteves
Aluko
Ejaria

Joao

Southwood Holmes Gibson Tetek Semedo Olise Onen Camara Baldock

[Stranded]

Play as we have in the last 2 home games and we will be out of sight by half-time. Any downer from a close game and this becomes hard work.

I trust VP to get the mental side right.

[Snowball]

Play as we have in the last 2 home games and we will be out of sight by half-time. Any downer from a close game and this becomes hard work.

I trust VP to get the mental side right.

Hope you are right but this is quite an important game.

Win comfortably and it will be hard to imagine us falling out of the top six

Lose and that becomes a serious possibility

Before Brentford, we needed to average 1.5 points game, so now we need the W to counteract the L against Brentford

[Stranded]

Play as we have in the last 2 home games and we will be out of sight by half-time. Any downer from a close game and this becomes hard work.

I trust VP to get the mental side right.

Hope you are right but this is quite an important game.

Win comfortably and it will be hard to imagine us falling out of the top six

Lose and that becomes a serious possibility

Before Brentford, we needed to average 1.5 points game, so now we need the W to counteract the L against Brentford

Well a win will be the target but the damage a 2nd defeat does will depend on other results

Stoke are at Norwich and Bristol at Watford, Boro at an improving Derby and Bournemouth at an in form Forest - very possibly 4 defeats there. Even Blackburn have a Lancashire derby against Preston, so even dropping points may not seriously damage our chances.

A very good chance given those games to open a double digit gap at the weekend.

[Hound]

Preston a very good side away as well. tough one for blackburn

[URZZZZ]

Play as we have in the last 2 home games and we will be out of sight by half-time. Any downer from a close game and this becomes hard work.

I trust VP to get the mental side right.

Hope you are right but this is quite an important game.

Win comfortably and it will be hard to imagine us falling out of the top six

Lose and that becomes a serious possibility

Before Brentford, we needed to average 1.5 points game, so now we need the W to counteract the L against Brentford

Well a win will be the target but the damage a 2nd defeat does will depend on other results

Stoke are at Norwich and Bristol at Watford, Boro at an improving Derby and Bournemouth at an in form Forest - very possibly 4 defeats there. Even Blackburn have a Lancashire derby against Preston, so even dropping points may not seriously damage our chances.

A very good chance given those games to open a double digit gap at the weekend.

Millwalls record against the top 6 stands at:

0-6-1

Obviously we should be aiming for a win but a draw wouldn’t be an awful result, keeps us ticking along and as you say, important not to fall into a rut of a losing streak

[South Coast Royal]

I suppose it is a possibility because of injuries etc. but Aluko in for Olise-really?
Millwall probably aren't as physical as they have been in the past but they tend to scrap for points with Wallace adding that bit of quality from time to time.

Not the ideal opponents after defeat in a big game but the bait of play-offs is getting nearer every week so the right attitude should overcome any feelings of disappointment and fatigue.

I do believe tiredness is overstated-managers like Guardiola, Solskjaer, Mourinho and Ancelotti have put out predominantly regular first-teamers last weekend, in midweek and will do again this weekend followed by 2 of them in the next midweek.
If their players can do that why can't ours?
And we don't have to travel.

I would start with the same eleven and only make substitutions if we are winning easily .
But please, not Aluko.

[Stranded]

I suppose it is a possibility because of injuries etc. but Aluko in for Olise-really?
Millwall probably aren't as physical as they have been in the past but they tend to scrap for points with Wallace adding that bit of quality from time to time.

Not the ideal opponents after defeat in a big game but the bait of play-offs is getting nearer every week so the right attitude should overcome any feelings of disappointment and fatigue.

I do believe tiredness is overstated-managers like Guardiola, Solskjaer, Mourinho and Ancelotti have put out predominantly regular first-teamers last weekend, in midweek and will do again this weekend followed by 2 of them in the next midweek.
If their players can do that why can't ours?
And we don't have to travel.

I would start with the same eleven and only make substitutions if we are winning easily .
But please, not Aluko.

Physical tiredness may not be an issue but mental tiredness could be - at the moment the players will be in a mode of play, recover, prepare, play - so momentum is likely the key factor more than anything.

[South Coast Royal]

I suppose it is a possibility because of injuries etc. but Aluko in for Olise-really?
Millwall probably aren't as physical as they have been in the past but they tend to scrap for points with Wallace adding that bit of quality from time to time.

Not the ideal opponents after defeat in a big game but the bait of play-offs is getting nearer every week so the right attitude should overcome any feelings of disappointment and fatigue.

I do believe tiredness is overstated-managers like Guardiola, Solskjaer, Mourinho and Ancelotti have put out predominantly regular first-teamers last weekend, in midweek and will do again this weekend followed by 2 of them in the next midweek.
If their players can do that why can't ours?
And we don't have to travel.

I would start with the same eleven and only make substitutions if we are winning easily .
But please, not Aluko.

Physical tiredness may not be an issue but mental tiredness could be - at the moment the players will be in a mode of play, recover, prepare, play - so momentum is likely the key factor more than anything.

Ability>>>>>>momentum.
Build the players up to believe that they were unlucky to lose against the best side in the division so that they should expect to beat the rest as they are better than the rest.

It's no good relying on momentum as , in our case, we have just drawn and lost in the past 2 games.

[andrew1957]

I have a bit of a bad feeling about this one. It will take all Pauno's management skill to get the players back "up" after last night's disappointment. Hopefully they can take the positives from running an excellent Brentford team - that look nailed on to win this league - so close last night.

I think if we lose again it could be a problem from a mental perspective - so feel that a draw would not be a disastrous result. A win would of course be better as that would put any doubts about our play off potential back to bed.

[URZZZZ]

I suppose it is a possibility because of injuries etc. but Aluko in for Olise-really?
Millwall probably aren't as physical as they have been in the past but they tend to scrap for points with Wallace adding that bit of quality from time to time.

Not the ideal opponents after defeat in a big game but the bait of play-offs is getting nearer every week so the right attitude should overcome any feelings of disappointment and fatigue.

I do believe tiredness is overstated-managers like Guardiola, Solskjaer, Mourinho and Ancelotti have put out predominantly regular first-teamers last weekend, in midweek and will do again this weekend followed by 2 of them in the next midweek.
If their players can do that why can't ours?
And we don't have to travel.

I would start with the same eleven and only make substitutions if we are winning easily .
But please, not Aluko.

I suppose you have a new scapegoat since our talented RB has gone to Charlton!

Pauno clearly sees a role for Aluko in the current set up, as a reliable squad player. Someone that won’t often play when the whole squad is fit but can fill in with injuries. Given that his last five league starts have yielded 10 points (Preston, Huddersfield, Luton, Norwich, QPR), he clearly isn’t letting the team down to the extent you think he does

Furthermore, IIRC Olise has only started three times in a week once all season, in arguably his worst spell of the season. He was clearly knackered with 30 minutes to go, and given he played the entire game yesterday and we have plenty more games coming up in February, I see no issue with Aluko replacing Olise for this one

In response to your question though, plenty of players do play weekend - midweek - weekend, Morrison, McIntyre, Richards, Ejaria, Joao, Rinomhota, Laurent etc. Olise is a lot younger and a lot more inexperienced than almost all of them and plays in a high demanding energetic role which is why he’s taken out of the side from time to time

[Hound]

yep agreed with Urrzz here. Happy for Aluko to come in for Olise. Will have Yids behind him hopefully which might help with some of his defensive shortcomings

[South Coast Royal]

yep agreed with Urrzz here. Happy for Aluko to come in for Olise. Will have Yids behind him hopefully which might help with some of his defensive shortcomings

Did you notice last night that Aluko made no attempt to close down their player from their left midfield position who then crossed for the goal.?

I don't disagree that Olise should be taken out of the action now and again ( although Alan Ball was a World Cup winner at 20 and Pele at 18? ) it's just that I wish we had a different option to Aluko.

[quickwingerswife]

The pressures off getting automatic promotion now and I’m quite glad cos we will get crucified in the Premiership as our team is now. Have a look. Swift. Injury prone. Olise, is he as good as we’re all claiming and is he off soon? Richards, great player but his heads been turned and he won’t stay. Joao, selfish, moody not a team player etc etc.

Realism. Play offs a good lark for us all, but really not vital we get in the prem.

Millwall next, let’s just have a good game and be thankful for what we’ve got. I’m quite happy with Championship.

Imagine being a Sheffield United supporter right now.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Play as we have in the last 2 home games and we will be out of sight by half-time. Any downer from a close game and this becomes hard work.

I trust VP to get the mental side right.

Hope you are right but this is quite an important game.

Win comfortably and it will be hard to imagine us falling out of the top six

Lose and that becomes a serious possibility

Before Brentford, we needed to average 1.5 points game, so now we need the W to counteract the L against Brentford

Don't think we'll need as may as 1.5 points per game (pre Brentford) that would mean Boro and co picking up 2 points a game from now on, autos form. No one in the chasing pack is good enough to do that

[tidus_mi2]

The pressures off getting automatic promotion now and I’m quite glad cos we will get crucified in the Premiership as our team is now. Have a look. Swift. Injury prone. Olise, is he as good as we’re all claiming and is he off soon? Richards, great player but his heads been turned and he won’t stay. Joao, selfish, moody not a team player etc etc.

Realism. Play offs a good lark for us all, but really not vital we get in the prem.

Millwall next, let’s just have a good game and be thankful for what we’ve got. I’m quite happy with Championship.

Imagine being a Sheffield United supporter right now.

In the Premier League, actually starting to pick up points and now as a result, have a slim chance of staying up?

[Hound]

The pressures off getting automatic promotion now and I’m quite glad cos we will get crucified in the Premiership as our team is now. Have a look. Swift. Injury prone. Olise, is he as good as we’re all claiming and is he off soon? Richards, great player but his heads been turned and he won’t stay. Joao, selfish, moody not a team player etc etc.

Realism. Play offs a good lark for us all, but really not vital we get in the prem.

Millwall next, let’s just have a good game and be thankful for what we’ve got. I’m quite happy with Championship.

Imagine being a Sheffield United supporter right now.

In the Premier League, actually starting to pick up points and now as a result, have a slim chance of staying up?

And flush with money and financially doped to help go back up next year