Two teams with outside hopes of making the playoffs this season will lock horns in the Championship on Friday afternoon, as Preston North End welcome Millwall to Deepdale.
Preston are currently 13th in the table, eight points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United, while Millwall sit ninth, four points behind the Blades heading into the final straight.
Match preview
© Reuters
Preston will likely need to win all five of their final Championship matches to stand a chance of making the playoffs this season, but it is certainly not impossible for them to finish in the top six.
Ryan Lowe's side lost back-to-back matches against Luton Town and Derby County either side of the international break, which appeared to end their top-six hopes, but they have responded impressively, beating Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers in their last two games to move onto 57 points.
The Lilywhites are eight points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United on the same number of matches (41), and they have some tough games to finish the campaign, taking on Fulham, Blackburn Rovers, Barnsley and Middlesbrough in their final four fixtures of the regular Championship season.
Lowe's team have only lost three of their 20 home league games this term and will be eyeing a third straight league success in front of their own supporters on Friday, which would lead them nicely into the clash with league leaders Fulham on April 19.
Preston have actually lost four of their last five Championship games with Millwall, though, including a 2-0 defeat in the corresponding match during the 2020-21 campaign.
© Reuters
Millwall, meanwhile, will enter Friday's match off the back of an impressive 4-1 win over Barnsley last weekend, with Danny McNamara netting a brace at the Den.
The Lions are very much in the playoff mix at this stage of the season, boasting 61 points from their 41 matches, which has left them in ninth, four points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United.
Much of Millwall's success in the league this term has been built on a strong home record, collecting 39 points from their 21 home matches, which is the third-best record in the league behind Blackburn and Fulham.
However, Gary Rowett's side have found it difficult to show consistency on their travels, picking up just 22 points from 20 matches, and their record on the road could end up costing them a top-six position.
The capital outfit have never played in the Premier League and have not operated in the top flight of English football since 1990, so it would be some story if they could navigate their way back to the top tier.
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Preston will again be without the services of Ryan Ledson and Tom Barkhuizen, but head coach Lowe said during his pre-match press conference that the home side are otherwise in good shape.
Brad Potts and Josh Earl are both back in contention after missing out against QPR through illness, while Ched Evans has been back in training with the club after recovering from a toe problem.
A late decision will be made on the involvement of Emil Riis, though, after the striker limped out of the contest with QPR due to a hamstring problem.
As for Millwall, Mason Bennett remains unavailable for selection through injury, but skipper Shaun Hutchinson has recently returned to training after a calf issue and could be in the squad.
Head coach Rowett is likely to resist the temptation to bring Hutchinson back into the starting side this weekend, though, meaning that the team could be unchanged from the one that started against Barnsley.
Benik Afobe and Oliver Burke were both on the scoresheet last time out and should continue as the front two with support from Jed Wallace.
Meanwhile, Billy Mitchell and Maikel Kieftenbeld are set to retain their spots in the middle of the park for the visitors.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Berg, Bauer, Hughes; McCann, Browne, Whiteman, Cunningham; Johnson; Riis, Archer
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski; Ballard, Cooper, Wallace; McNamara, Mitchell, Kieftenbeld, Malone; Wallace; Afobe, Burke
We say: Preston North End 2-2 Millwall
This is a very difficult match to call, especially considering Preston's recent form. The Lilywhites have only lost three times in front of their own fans in the Championship this season, meanwhile, so we are finding it very difficult to back Millwall, ultimately settling on an entertaining 2-2 draw at Deepdale.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Preston North End win with a probability of 48.77%. A draw had a probability of 27.2% and a win for Millwall had a probability of 24.03%.
The most likely scoreline for a Preston North End win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.04%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.87%) and 2-1 (8.86%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.61%), while for a Millwall win it was 0-1 (8.98%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
