Stoke City v Millwall
Potters | Official Matchday Programme of Stoke City Stoke City v Millwall | Sky Bet Championship Saturday 23rd December, 2023 | KO 3pm | bet365 Stadium
Potters | Official Matchday Programme of Stoke City
Stoke City v Millwall | Sky Bet Championship
Saturday 23rd December, 2023 | KO 3pm | bet365 Stadium
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the potters<br />
TODAY’S VISITORS<br />
MILWALL FC<br />
After four years under the charges of the experienced Gary Rowett, <strong>Millwall</strong><br />
are embarking on a new adventure under a fairly new head coach and there<br />
are sure to be plenty of twists and turns ahead for the Lions.<br />
14<br />
LAST MATCH:<br />
millwall 1<br />
huddersfield 1<br />
16/12/23, The Den<br />
EFL Championship<br />
NEXT UP:<br />
millwall v<br />
qpr<br />
26/12/23<br />
The Den<br />
EFL Championship<br />
The South London club sat 15th in<br />
the division when Rowett left The<br />
Den but the fixture list has been<br />
tough on new head coach Joe<br />
Edwards, meaning <strong>Millwall</strong> have<br />
dropped to 20th in the table.<br />
Play-off chasing Sunderland have<br />
been welcomed to South London<br />
since Edwards’ arrival and the<br />
Lions have also faced off against<br />
automatic promotion hopefuls<br />
Ipswich Town and Leicester <strong>City</strong>.<br />
The Lions have amassed five points<br />
since Edwards’ appointment,<br />
although their tough run of fixtures<br />
tells a story of its own, and with<br />
the January transfer window fast<br />
approaching, the new head coach<br />
will have the opportunity to make<br />
changes to his squad as he sees fit.<br />
“This one is talking about bringing<br />
in players to make an impact,” the<br />
37-year-old recently told the South<br />
London Press. “For those ones<br />
who can really make an impact<br />
then you’re normally talking about<br />
players who have been elsewhere<br />
in the first half of the season and<br />
really standing out.<br />
“It then becomes a really<br />
competitive market. You get other<br />
clubs that, sometimes if they<br />
have a bigger budget, are able to<br />
trump you.<br />
“There are other situations like the<br />
rate of injuries continues to grow –<br />
across the board. Therefore clubs<br />
have got players in their squad that<br />
although they are not getting loads<br />
of game time – I’m sure the player<br />
would want to get out and play –<br />
some managers will simply just be<br />
scared to leave themselves short.”<br />
The turn of the year sees the<br />
fixture list, on paper, ease a little<br />
for the Lions although the typical<br />
nature of the Championship<br />
applies with any team able to beat<br />
another on a given day.<br />
Last season the Lions departed<br />
the bet365 Stadium with<br />
maximum points thanks to Zion<br />
Flemming’s solitary strike.<br />
The Potters’ last three points<br />
against the Lions in ST4 came in<br />
March 2022 when Jacob Brown<br />
and a George Saville own-goal<br />
were enough for the three points.<br />
Jack Bonham also denied Jed<br />
Wallace from the penalty spot that<br />
very same day.