There’s another huge game for us this coming Saturday as we welcome fifth placed and in-form South London side Millwall to Valley Parade. After the disappointment of our late loss away to Wigan last time out on Saturday, Phil Parkinson and his men will be looking to bounce back with a win in this potential play-off six pointer against one of League One’s strongest sides.
This week has brought about another loan signing for the Bantams as Parkinson has added former Manchester United U21 captain Tom Thorpe to the ranks on loan from Rotherham until the end of the season, his sixth loan singing of the season. Thorpe had made seven appearances for the Millers this term but was unhappy with his lack of game time at the New York Stadium. Upon his arrival at the club Parkinson was quick to comment stating; “I felt we needed another option both in midfield and at the back and he can do both. He's a good young player.” The centre back could make his debut on Saturday as City are suffering through both injury and international call ups. Rory McArdle is still out with his shoulder injury whilst Reece Burke, Josh Cullen and Lee Evans have been called up for international duty for England, Republic of Ireland and Wales respectively. Tony McMahon is also struggling with a hip flexor problem and is a major doubt for the game versus Millwall at the weekend.
With three of our players missing due to international call-ups and Millwall apparently missing four players for the same reason you have to wonder why this game hasn’t been postponed. Nobody wants to call off a match but it seems a shame that a game that could possibly define our season will feature a much weaker Bantams side. The same goes for Millwall with their missing players; it just seems a shame that some of both clubs best players will be missing come Saturday afternoon.
Millwall themselves come into the clash at Valley Parade on Saturday in fantastic form. Losing just once in their last thirteen League One matches as well as beating Walsall and Sheffield United and claiming a draw with Wigan in the process, the Lions are looking a sure bet for a top six finish if not better. For this level Millwall boast a team full of talent and have strengthened further with the recent acquisition of Chris Taylor on loan for the rest of the season from Championship side Blackburn Rovers. One of their main stand out players this term has come in the form of former Halifax striker Lee Gregory who has 15 goals in 34 appearances. Fellow strikers Steve Morison, Aiden O’Brien and Fred Onyedinma have 24 goals between them highlighting how lethal Millwall’s attack can be on its day.
Back on the 31st October this season we played out a 0-0 at the Den with Millwall. The match itself was largely uneventful with only one shot on target between the two sides during the 90 minutes. With possession pretty even throughout, the game was one where defences came out on top and one most fans won’t want to remember in a hurry especially those Bantams who made the long trip down to London.
You could argue that this game is a potential play-off six pointer. Saturday’s game is huge for both teams but especially for City as if Millwall come to Valley Parade and claim a win, the gap up to fifth place opens up to seven points. That might not seem too bad at first due to the fact that the sixth placed side come May also claims a play-off berth but it leaves up to five or six clubs fighting for one play-off position including ourselves, a situation we don’t really want to be a part of.
Despite losing some of our most influential players for the game on Saturday I fully believe that we can still put out a strong side that can beat Millwall. Of late we have performed very well especially Jamie Proctor and Kyel Reid whom will feature again this weekend. The addition of Tom Thorpe, who is likely to make his debut for the club, is key come Saturday as he brings even more depth into the squad. Looking forward, with Anderson and Morais likely to be in the match day squad for Saturday when we have our internationals back from duty next weekend our team will be at its strongest for this season. Adding the fact that Millwall have too lost players due to the international call ups this week, anything less than a draw this weekend will be a bad result in my eyes.
