Millwall v Stoke City: Can City Stoke fires at the Den? | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Ryan Deeney previews Stoke City v Millwall

Ryan Deeney looks ahead to the early Saturday clash at The Den asMillwall host manager Alex Neil's former employers Stoke City...

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The relegation scrap is hotting up

Stoke City head into the weekend looking for another important three points as they bid to put further distance between themselves and the bottom three.

Their victory against Blackburn Rovers in midweek was well-timed with Plymouth Argyle, Luton Town and Derby County also picking up wins in midweek.

It goes to show there are no easy games in the EFL Championship and on paper, a trip to The Den is notoriously as difficult as they come.

However, things haven't exactly gone to plan for Alex Neil in front of his new supporters so far and their league position means they are one of the first to be able to prepare for the beach.

Are Stoke showing signs of improvement?

Stoke City are having a difficult campaign regardless, but their away form has been a problem all year and hasn't improved under Mark Robins - it's one win and four losses from seven.

However, the ex-Cov boss will point to some tricky fixtures. They have played five of the top eight on the road while Portsmouth had won nine of their last 12 at home before midweek. Their sole win came away at lowly Hull City.

There are signs of improvement too. Stoke have created 1xG or more in five of those away outings and found the net in five too.

As for their defensive record, the numbers on the road are poor but they are down in general since Robins took over. And perhaps most pertinently, they have conceded less than 1xG in their last three in the Championship, including the 3-2 loss at Coventry. They're giving themselves a chance.

Dull at the Den

As noted above, Millwall are having some problems at The Den.

Since the arrival of Neil, they have won one, drawn two and lost three. Concerningly ahead of this one, they have lost against both Oxford United and Hull City while drawing with Cardiff City.

Most of Millwall's games this season have been played on tight margins and that has become even more of a feature under Neil with Bristol City the only team in the last six to create more than 1xG worth of chances at The Den - and that includes Millwall.

And finally, Millwall enter this game on the back of a double-away having played at Watford on Saturday and Leeds United on Wednesday.

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