Football – England – Championship
Saturday 29th November 2014 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Bournemouth will be looking to return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon when they host struggling Millwall at Dean Court following back-to-back draws recently.
Not that The Cherries’ form has dropped – a couple of very awkward fixtures which consisted of away at Middlesbrough and then at home to Ipswich Town, both of whom are placed 3rd and 4th place respectively, so Bournemouth have done well to get something from these matches.
In fact, what Bournemouth have done by not losing these encounters is that they’ve held onto second place, but now their attentions will be turned to taking all three points against Millwall today. Bournemouth are now unbeaten in their last eight matches, while at home they possess a record of 5-2-2 15/10 having been unbeaten in their last five (winning four of these matches).
However, striker Callum Wilson is rated 50/50 to play with a suspected hamstring strain, while fellow forward Rantie is definitely out with a dislocated shoulder. With Kermorgant, Pitman and midfielder Pugh, The Cherries still possess plenty of firepower.
Millwall make the trip to the south coast on the back of four Championship matches without a win following defeats against Watford and Brentford and draws with Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic. Ian Holloway’s side remain just above the relegation zone level on points now with Birmingham City.
The Lions’ away record stands at 1-4-4 6/11 with their first away win being registered on their first trip of the season at Fulham in a 1-0 win. Since then, Millwall have struggled to put teams to bed and a draw looks the most that they can hope for at Dean Court this afternoon. But bear in mind that Millwall have held the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Wigan and Charlton to draws so far.
Bournemouth have had a couple of tricky fixtures recently and I don’t think they’ll risk striker Wilson for this match if he’s not 100% fit. I reckon Millwall will make life difficult here for The Cherries so I’ll back them with the +1 handicap as I think they might sneak a point here.
Pick: Millwall AH+1 @ 1.81 Ladbrokes
