BY KIERAN HILL
On Saturday, Millwall face the stern test of playing Reading at the Den. Reading have had a mixed bag of results to begin the season, not unlike the Lions! However, the Royals have managed to achieve nine points from their opening five fixtures, whilst Millwall are on seven, which means that Saturday’s encounter gives the Lions the chance to leapfrog Reading!
Reading’s last 5 fixtures (in all comps) WLLWW
Millwall are unbeaten in their last five encounters with the Royals, managing to get four wins in that time too!
It is thought that Millwall will go into the game playing their standard 3-5-2 formation, in which the wing backs are classed as part of the midfield five.
Danny McNamara will be expected to start this weekend despite a difficult start to his campaign, however there are still question marks about who will play of the left hand side, with some Millwall fans actively speaking against Scott Malone after he’s struggled in the last few games for the Lions!
Reading have had a lot of fortune since switching in the last couple of games to a 3-5-2 formation, with Holmes, Hutchinson and Mcintyre playing as a back 3 whilst Hoilett and Yiadom have now pushed up and act as part of the Reading midfield.
Whilst speaking to Reading fans @ElmParkRoyals and @readingfanman, they were feeling moderately confident going into the game despite their poor record in recent years against the Lions, however there is still worry from within the Reading fanbase.
When asked about how they believe the Royals will do this season they said that they “Fully expect despite the strong start for us to still be in the relegation battle at the end of the season – can’t get ahead of ourselves despite the 3 wins from the first 5, this season is still all just about survival.”
Reading are currently managed by former Manchester United and Liverpool player Paul Ince, of whom I am sure the Lions faithful will be quick to remind about his spell at West Ham in the early stages of his career.
When asked about the manager and whether they felt he was the right man for the job, the fans’ response was a clear answer, saying that “Currently – I think so (about having the right gaffer). If we can continue the defensive siege style football, we should have enough about us to go and win points this season as shown by the home wins. As long as this continues, and he doesn’t let a losing momentum kick in, it’s tough to argue that anyone could be doing a much better job this season yet.”
This summer was key for the Royals, seeing as it was imperative for them to improve from last season, as they were on record the worst team to ever stay up from the Championship. When asked about their transfer business, Reading fans were confident, saying there have been “Lots of ins and outs! Bringing in a whole new central midfield this summer has really helped though. Hendrick and Loum have added much needed “steel” to the midfield. Whilst Tom Ince has added a lot of hard work in the final third. Losing so many players from last season was always expected – and the longer we go through the season, the less they will be missed if we continue to pick up points after what has been probably one of the worst 5 years supporting the club.”
The rest of the Q and A with the Reading fans went as follows:
Key Player
Key player will probably be Tom Ince, if he is able to create, we will hopefully be able to nab a goal. The guy has lungs bigger than my back yard, seems to be able to run for days.
Also need to watch out for Loum in central midfield who will be involved in winning a lot of the ball back and playing it forward to the 2 “strikers” in Long and Ince.
What formation and style of play do you play?
We have adapted to a 5-3-2 style recently with high wing backs, playing fairly direct fast football. We have had very low possession stats and will be more than happy to play in a very low block on the counter.
What are your fans like and what do they expect of the players?
Our fans have sold around 1300 for the game, and are in fairly optimistic mood having won the last 2 after the aberration of Rotherham away. Will expect the players to look to play hold up football, and basically be prepared to put in blocks, and tackles late on when needed.
How do you think the game will go and a prediction for the result?
Think Millwall will probably hold a lot of the ball, with Reading playing in a low block and then attempting to hit them on the counter. If Reading can pick up the first goal, who knows! I do think it’ll be a close game though either way and would be surprised if either side run away with this one.