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Leeds logo
Championship
Mar 22, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Millwall logo

2-1

Smith (19'), McCormack (41')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Campbell (73')

Preview: Leeds United vs. Millwall

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship encounter between troubled Leeds United and struggling Millwall at Elland Road.

Millwall manager Ian Holloway will be looking for a response from his side when they take on Leeds United at Elland Road having slipped into the relegation zone due to midweek results elsewhere.

Charlton Athletic produced a late winner to beat Bournemouth 1-0 on Tuesday, a result that lifted the Addicks above their London rivals and into a position of safety.

The Lions' task of reclaiming their place above the dotted line is certainly not a straightforward one for Holloway, who has led the team to just two wins in his 12 games in charge.

Millwall may currently be level on points with Charlton, but they have played two games more than the Addicks and their goal difference is substantially worse - effectively giving Charlton an extra point advantage.

Furthermore, the Lions have found it increasingly difficult to even score, yet alone win, having netted just once in their last five league games. They have not scored more than one goal in a game since a 3-2 defeat to Blackburn in December, 18 games ago.

Such a record is even more costly for a side with the joint-worst defensive record in the division, although that aspect has improved in recent weeks with just five goals conceded in their last seven games.

However, wins are what they need more than anything, and gaining three points is something that they have managed only twice on their travels all season.

One of those wins was an impressive 1-0 success against high flying Derby earlier this month, but that is their only victory in their last 15 away matches in all competitions, while only Barnsley have amassed fewer points on the road all season.

Holloway could opt to name new boy Stefan Maierhofer on the bench for the match, but he will definitely be without Danny Shittu, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an Achilles problem.

While Millwall are fast approaching turmoil on the field, Leeds's wrangling over a new owner means that their off-field troubles continue to rumble on.

The Football League are yet to ratify prospective owner Massimo Cellino, who has done himself no favours by being found guilty of tax evasion this week.

On the pitch, things aren't much better. Brian McDermott's once realistic hopes of reaching the playoffs now seem like a distant fantasy as they sit 15th in the table, closer to the bottom three than the top six.

They have now gone six matches without a victory, while last Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Burnley was a third consecutive loss, during which time they have conceded 11 goals.

Nine of those goals have come in their last two outings at Elland Road, where they have managed to win just once in the eight games since their 2-0 win over Wigan at the start of December.

The good news is that they have no new injury concerns to worry about, which means that Matt Smith could continue up front with the league's top scorer Ross McCormack in support.

Recent form

Leeds: LDDLLL

Millwall: DLLWLD

Possible starting lineups

Leeds: Butland; Byram, Pearce, Lees, Pugh; Austin, Murphy; Wickham, Mowatt, McCormack; Smith

Millwall: Forde; Dunne, Williams, Robinson, Lowry; McDonald, Onyedinma, Garvan, Upson, Woolford; Morison

Sports Mole says: 1-1


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Ross McCormack of Leeds United celebrates scoring during their Sky Bet Championship match between Leeds United and Birmingham City at Elland Road Stadium on October 20, 2013
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2Sunderland1594225111431
3Burnley168621961330
4Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
5Middlesbrough1683529191027
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom166821811726
7Watford168262524126
8Millwall156541813523
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City165742020022
11Derby CountyDerby165562020020
12Stoke CityStoke165561920-120
13Norwich CityNorwich164752524119
14Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
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16Luton TownLuton165381826-818
17Coventry CityCoventry164572223-117
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd164571924-517
19Plymouth ArgylePlymouth164571728-1117
20Preston North EndPreston163761624-816
21Cardiff CityCardiff164481524-916
22Hull City163671621-515
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR161871326-1311


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