Wimbledon - Millwall, English Division 1
2004-03-24 20.45 CET
Pick: Millwall
Stake: 3%
Odds: 1,62
Final reason for bet
· Millwall is in very good form.
· Millwall has a fully fit squad.
· Wimbledon is in really bad shape having lost their nine last games.
· Wimbledon has some players who are missing through injuries and suspensions.
· A majority of the good players in Wimbledon was sold earlier this season.
General comment about the game
On Wednesday evening Millwall will travel to meet local rivals Wimbledon in the English division 1. Millwall is currently in 7th place and with less played games than most of the teams higher up the table. This means they have a good opportunity to reach the playoff. Since New Year they are the best form team in the league having won seven games and only lost one from ten played. They have also played very well in the FA cup and have now reached the semi final against division 1 rivals Sunderland. During the weekend they played at home against promotion hopefuls West Ham in a match that they won by 4-1. The match was incident packed with Millwall missing a penalty in first half and then before the break took the lead by an own goal from West Ham defender Dailly. In second half Millwall extended their lead after just one minute and just a few minutes later West Ham scored on a penalty. Ten minutes after that Millwall scored again after a fine volley from midfielder Tim Cahill and only a few minutes later they missed a second penalty. In the incident that earned Millwall the penalty, West Ham got a man sent off. Millwall had now full control over the match and also managed too score a fourth goal near the end by half time substitute Nick Chadwick. In all it was a very fine performance from the Millwall team. To score four goals when missing two penalties against a good side as West Ham is very impressive. In the game before that they won away against another team in the promotion race Ipswich by 3-1. Millwall showed great confidence and skill and were 3-0 up just after the break. To this game Millwall will be able to field a fully strength squad since they have no suspensions or injuries to deal with for the moment.
There is not so much more to say about Wimbledon. They are just not good enough for this division, especially after what has happened the latest two months. Since their recent sell out in late January they have not even managed to score a single goal. During the weekend their game away against Burnley got postponed. Ahead of the Burnley game we wrote about the injury situation in Wimbledon and it really looked troublesome. To this game things are a little bit brighter but veteran striker Dean Holdsworth (26 apps, 3 goals) and midfielder Wade Small (18 apps, 1 goal) have not recovered from their injuries and will miss out again. Also out is defender Dean Lewington (18 apps, 1 goal) who is suspended. On the positive side, Wimbledon has signed a one month loan deal with young midfielder Gary Smith from Middlesbrough. Smith has had difficulties to take a place in the first team but lately he has made some good displays in the reserve games.
Once again we will suggest a bet against Wimbledon. This time they face the best form team in the league and anything other than a Millwall victory would be a very big surprise. Millwall are in a position where they have a playoff spot in their own hands so the motivation must be high. Since Millwall play away we keep the stake on medium level, 3%.
Recent games for home team
|
2004-03-13 |
Walsall-Wimbledon |
1-0 |
|
2004-03-09 |
West Ham-Wimbledon |
5-0 |
|
2004-03-02 |
Wimbledon-Nottingham |
0-1 |
|
2004-02-28 |
Watford-Wimbledon |
4-0 |
|
2004-02-21 |
Wimbledon-Coventry |
0-3 |
Recent games for away team
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2004-03-21 |
Millwall-West Ham |
4-1 |
|
2004-03-13 |
Ipswich-Millwall |
1-3 |
|
2004-03-02 |
Sheffield United-Millwall |
2-1 |
|
2004-02-28 |
Millwall-Burnley |
2-0 |
|
2004-02-24 |
Millwall-Rotherham |
2-1 |
Home table
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Wimbledon |
17 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
14-30 |
9 |
Away table
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Millwall |
18 |
6 |
5 |
7 |
23-24 |
23 |
Links for this game
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Millwall: |
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League: |
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// SportsObserver 040323
