IT’S fair to say that the mood in South Bermondsey isn’t overly positive after Wednesday’s defeat to QPR.
For Millwall fans, it’s a hugely frustrating contrast to where they were less than two weeks ago. Concern was beginning to build up after a difficult start to the season, but the Lions’ 2-0 win against Cardiff City eased the pressure.
Not only was it a positive result, but it was a positive performance too. Unlike the previous home win, a 3-2 victory against Coventry City, there can be no arguments as to who deserved to take the points. Unfortunately for Millwall, the same could be said about their loss in the London derby, but not in their favour.
The defeat means that Gary Rowett’s side have lost four of their last five games without scoring and have dropped to 19th in the Championship table as a result. There’s now an increased amount of pressure to head into the international break on a high, and fortunately for Millwall, Blackpool are possibly the best opponents they could face under the circumstances.
This isn’t to say that the Tangerines have been poor this season. In fact, they’ve arguably outperformed their early expectations and sit 16th in the table, two points above the relegation zone and one point above Millwall. They also boast the ninth best away record in the division, having taken points from trips to Burnley, QPR and Huddersfield Town.
However, Michael Appleton’s men will travel to South Bermondsey off the back of a 3-0 defeat away to newly promoted Rotherham United. Their performance was dubbed by the local press as their worst of the season, and any confidence that the Seasiders picked up from previous away wins may have evaporated ahead of tomorrow’s game.
There are reasons for such a poor showing. Blackpool are still undergoing a fairly significant transition following the departure of Neil Critchley, who left his role as manager to work under Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa before the start of the season. Appleton was appointed as his replacement and has been left frustrated by some of the club’s summer transfer business, openly admitted that he’s still exploring the free agent market as a result of injuries.
Those injuries are fairly substantial, with Jake Beesley, Keshi Anderson, Kevin Stewart and Lewis Fiorini all expected to miss Saturday’s clash in South London. Appleton prefers to use a 4-3-3 formation, one which provided him with a great deal of success in the early stages of his stint at Lincoln City, but has had to shift to a 5-2-3 formation due to a lack of midfielders. It remains to be seen whether Charlie Patino’s return from injury could see them revert to their usual system from now on.
The Lions are facing their own difficulties, however. Mason Bennett, Ryan Leonard and Shaun Hutchinson are all ruled out until after the international break at the earliest, leaving Rowett with limited options in some areas of the pitch.
Having seen an improvement since adopting their new 5-2-3 formation, the Millwall boss is keen to maintain some form of consistency after chopping and changing different systems and players since the start of the season. It didn’t work at all against QPR, however, and Rowett has since admitted that he may need to make further alterations if his side are going to turn around their poor form.
Perhaps the international break comes at the perfect time for that, as he’ll have his entire squad (minus Callum Styles, who’s set to join up with the Hungarian national team) available to him for a two-week period if he wants to make any significant changes to their tactical approach
Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean that Millwall won’t be expected to win this weekend, especially if they want to show the fans that they can be genuine contenders for the play-offs and kickstart a surge up the table in October.
Predicted Millwall XI: 5-2-3: Bialkowski; McNamara, Cresswell, Cooper, Wallace, Styles; Shackleton, Mitchell; Flemming, Afobe, Voglsammer
Match odds: Millwall EVS Draw 23/10 Blackpool 11/4
Last meeting: Championship (January 22, 2022): Blackpool 1-0 Millwall (Lavery 55′)
Photo: Millwall FC