By Daniel Wood
Huddersfield Town travel to Millwall on the last day of the current season in the SkyBet Championship on Wednesday 22nd July at The Den; 7:30 pm KO.
The Terriers will be led by Danny Schofield following the departure of Danny Cowley on 19th July after it was ensured that Town would survive relegation.
Last time out saw Huddersfield defeat promotion contenders, West Bromwich Albion, 2-1 at the John Smith’s Stadium. The result saw Town become mathematically safe from the drop.
Town currently sit 18thin the league table and are hoping to gain one final win before the season comes to an end.
Millwall
Coming into this game the Lions currently sit 9th in the Championship, after last time out saw an end to their promotion contention as they lost 4-3 away at QPR.
The defeat against QPR has left them five points away from the top six and with only one game left to play it leaves them unable to gain promotion to the Premier League.
In their last five games, Millwall has won three games and lost two games. All their three wins have been 1-0.
Millwall has the 11thbest home record in the division this season. They have won nine games, drawn eight games, and lost five games at the Den this season.
Their manager, Gary Rowett, has not had the most successful managerial career. He has challenged for playoff places throughout his stints at Burton Albion, Birmingham City, and Millwall. He guided Burton Albion to the League Two play-off final in 2013-14.
He has also been coach of Derby County and Stoke City; however, he was sacked from both clubs after minimal success.
Ones to Watch
Matt Smith
Smith joined Millwall from QPR at the beginning of the 2019/20 season. The forward has been the side’s main goal source in the SkyBet Championship scoring 13 times in 40 appearances. Since the restart, Smith has scored twice. He was on a slight goal drought before scoring in the defeat against his former club QPR.
Shaun Hutchinson
The Scotsman, who has played for Motherwell and Fulham, joined the Lions in 2016. The centre-back has made over 130 appearances for Millwall in his four seasons playing at The Den. He has captained the team on several occasions and has primarily featured as part of a back three since the restart. He scored in Millwall’s last game.
Jed Wallace
Wallace is currently in his second loan spell at Millwall from Wolverhampton Wanderers. His first loan spell at Millwall was in 2015/16. This season, Wallace has been the Lions’ key creative player and has provided 13 assists in the league and has reached double figures in goals.
Team News – Huddersfield Town
Defender Tommy Elphick is still unavailable due to a long-term knee injury.
Team News – Millwall
Ben Thompson has been out since December with an unknown injury.
Goalkeeper, Frank Fielding, is out with an arm injury.
PREDICTION
Millwall lead the head to head record against Huddersfield Town. Since their first encounter in 1922, the sides have met 46 times. The Lions have won 21 times, there have been seven draws and Town have won 18 times. Huddersfield have not beaten Millwall since 2012 when they won 4-0.
In the reverse fixture this season, the teams drew 1-1 at the John Smith’s Stadium.
It could have been argued that the Terriers have more momentum coming into this game having beaten West Bromwich Albion 2-1 to ensure relegation survival. However, following the departure of Danny Cowley, the momentum may be up in the air.
Millwall lost out on promotion following a 4-3 loss in their last game, so they do not have momentum.
Both teams have nothing to play for going into the final game of the season, so it is anybody’s game to win this Wednesday.
I feel as though Town may have a shaky game due to the loss of their head coach.
Therefore, I predict:
Millwall 2-0 Huddersfield Town