Preview: Millwall v Bolton
SETTING THE SCENE
Unbeaten in six matches and having kept clean sheets in their last three, Bolton Wanderers travel to the capital on Friday night as they take on Millwall in their last match before Christmas.
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Having picked up seven points from their first three games of the season, Millwall’s form has stuttered since then with them registering just two wins since August. However, the Lions head into the fixture off the back of a 1-0 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Level on points with Ian Holloway’s side, the Whites currently sit two places ahead of Millwall courtesy of a superior goal difference, and will be keen to improve their record away from home as they look to stay ahead of the Lions.
TEAM NEWS
Craig Davies and Kevin McNaughton (both hamstring) are making good progress as they near first team returns, but Friday night's game will probably come too soon for the duo.
Max Clayton (knee) will definitely miss out having been ruled out for six months after receiving surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, while Joe Mason (hamstring) will also miss the trip to capital after tearing his hamstring in training last week.
Mark Davies (knee) and Marc Tierney (leg) remain long-term absentees.
LAST MILLWALL XI (v Brighton & Hove Albion, W 1-0)
Forde, Shittu, Beevers, Malone, Wilkinson, Williams, Woolford, Angel (Dunne 89), Gregory (Fuller 83), Gueye (Abdou 81), McDonald.
ONE TO WATCH
Joining Millwall from non-league Halifax Town in the summer, Lee Gregory has enjoyed an impressive start to life in the Football League, scoring four goals in 11 starts for the Lions.
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Starting his career in the Sheffield United academy, the forward enjoyed stints with Staveley Miners Welfare, Mansfield Town, Glapwell and Harrogate Town before joining Halifax on loan in Spring 2010, helping the club win the Northern Premier League Division One North title.
Signing for the club permanently the following December, Gregory helped Halifax secure back-to-back promotions and titles in 2011, before helping them win a further promotion to the Conference in 2013.
He scored 29 goals last season, just one behind the division’s leading goalscorer Andre Gray, as Halifax lost to Cambridge United in the play-offs.
LAST TIME WE WERE HERE (Millwall 1-1 Bolton Wanderers, 15 February 2014)
Lukas Jutkiewicz scored one but missed a penalty as Bolton Wanderers were forced to settle for a point on their last visit to the Den.
The Middlesbrough loanee headed the Whites infront in the 15th minute, converting Chris Eagles cross, before David Wheater and Alex Baptiste had to be alert to clear separate Martyn Woolford and Jermaine Easter efforts off the line as Millwall pushed for an equaliser.
Eagles then saw a free-kick rebound back off the post before Jutkiewicz’s tame spot-kick was saved by David Forde, allowing Woolford to net a late equaliser, reacting quickest to convert after Adam Bogdan parried a Simeon Jackson effort.
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SETTING THE SCENE
Unbeaten in six matches and having kept clean sheets in their last three, Bolton Wanderers travel to the capital on Friday night as they take on Millwall in their last match before Christmas.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Having picked up seven points from their first three games of the season, Millwall’s form has stuttered since then with them registering just two wins since August. However, the Lions head into the fixture off the back of a 1-0 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Level on points with Ian Holloway’s side, the Whites currently sit two places ahead of Millwall courtesy of a superior goal difference, and will be keen to improve their record away from home as they look to stay ahead of the Lions.
TEAM NEWS
Craig Davies and Kevin McNaughton (both hamstring) are making good progress as they near first team returns, but Friday night's game will probably come too soon for the duo.
Max Clayton (knee) will definitely miss out having been ruled out for six months after receiving surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, while Joe Mason (hamstring) will also miss the trip to capital after tearing his hamstring in training last week.
Mark Davies (knee) and Marc Tierney (leg) remain long-term absentees.
LAST MILLWALL XI (v Brighton & Hove Albion, W 1-0)
Forde, Shittu, Beevers, Malone, Wilkinson, Williams, Woolford, Angel (Dunne 89), Gregory (Fuller 83), Gueye (Abdou 81), McDonald.
ONE TO WATCH
Joining Millwall from non-league Halifax Town in the summer, Lee Gregory has enjoyed an impressive start to life in the Football League, scoring four goals in 11 starts for the Lions.
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Starting his career in the Sheffield United academy, the forward enjoyed stints with Staveley Miners Welfare, Mansfield Town, Glapwell and Harrogate Town before joining Halifax on loan in Spring 2010, helping the club win the Northern Premier League Division One North title.
Signing for the club permanently the following December, Gregory helped Halifax secure back-to-back promotions and titles in 2011, before helping them win a further promotion to the Conference in 2013.
He scored 29 goals last season, just one behind the division’s leading goalscorer Andre Gray, as Halifax lost to Cambridge United in the play-offs.
LAST TIME WE WERE HERE (Millwall 1-1 Bolton Wanderers, 15 February 2014)
Lukas Jutkiewicz scored one but missed a penalty as Bolton Wanderers were forced to settle for a point on their last visit to the Den.
The Middlesbrough loanee headed the Whites infront in the 15th minute, converting Chris Eagles cross, before David Wheater and Alex Baptiste had to be alert to clear separate Martyn Woolford and Jermaine Easter efforts off the line as Millwall pushed for an equaliser.
Eagles then saw a free-kick rebound back off the post before Jutkiewicz’s tame spot-kick was saved by David Forde, allowing Woolford to net a late equaliser, reacting quickest to convert after Adam Bogdan parried a Simeon Jackson effort.
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