The beginning of gameweek number five in the Championship sees Millwall head to Norwich on Friday night. Norwich have started the season slowly, only managing four points from their first four games, although they did manage to finally get their first win of the season in midweek. The preseason favourites for the title, they will be hoping that this is the start of a run to shoot them back up the table. Millwall have started the season well and will be even more buoyant after their midweek draw at Swansea – benefitting from two own goals in added time to equalise at 2-2. They also came back from 2-0 down to beat Coventry 3-2 last weekend and so they’re certainly a team you can never count as beaten. Along with a win hosting Stoke on the opening day, these results have seen them climb to fifth in this early stage of the season.
Dean Smith’s side will be disappointed with the start so far, but they should not be disheartened. They have had 68 shots and only scored four league goals and they will be hoping that Teemu Pukki, an injury doubt for this game, will be able to reignite his form from his last two seasons in the Championship so that they can start winning games again. They will also take heart from the fact that they didn’t win any of their first four games two years ago and still managed to walk away with the title with a comfortable margin.
Millwall, who have fallen just short of the playoffs regularly over the past few seasons, will be hoping they can go one step further this season. Their early season form has been solid, and their comebacks this week will be a big boost to them. However, they have lost another player in the attacking department as Mason Bennett got injured at Coventry, joining Zian Flemming and Tom Bradshaw in the medical room. Given that their two goals at Swansea were own goals, they will be hoping that they can be more prolific going forward.
Norwich City v Millwall Bet Builder Tips
Norwich to Win
Norwich finally got their first win of the season when hosting Huddersfield. The Canaries will be hoping for a similar run to the last time they were in the Championship, and I think that this could be the start of it with back-to-back home wins. Their four points so far have all come at home, and Dean Smith will take consolation in that and will want to try and back it up again here.
In addition, Norwich’s depth is very strong and one of the best in the Championship, and I think that three games in a week – especially emotionally draining ones like Millwall have had – may catch up with them, particularly given the travel incurred with going to Swansea. Millwall were very poor in midweek and were very fortunate that Swansea’s defenders tapped the ball in for them on two occasions. In addition, whilst they’ve won 2/2 at home, away from home they really should be on 0 points from their two games and Norwich will be hoping to capitalise on that, especially given their home form. If Millwall start slowly again, Norwich will be much stronger defensively than Coventry or Swansea and I think that their luck might just run out in this game.
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Prediction: Norwich to Win
Millwall to Receive the Most Cards
Norwich have started the season with only four cards in their first games – two of which came in a scrappy battle at Cardiff, who saw six on that day. In their other three games, they have only seen two cards, whilst their opponents have accumulated six. They have many technical players in central midfield and fast players going forward, and I think it’s likely that Millwall will struggle to deal with this and accumulate a few yellow cards.
Millwall on the other hand have been involved in four games with 21 cards. They have been responsible for ten of those and have picked up five cards away from home in their two games so far. Given Norwich’s very small yellow card count and Millwall’s high one, I think that there is value in the Lions having more cards than their opponents on Friday evening.
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Prediction: Millwall to Receive the Most Cards
Marcelino Nunez to have 2+ Shots
Marcelino Nunez joined Norwich in the summer and has been a key player in their start to the season. Having joined from Chile, he did not have a preseason with Norwich but was playing competitive football with Universidad Catolica in the weeks building up to the Championship season. As an attacking midfielder, he’s racked up at least two shots in all four games so far, as well as a massive four at Hull where he scored his first goal for the club and two in just 30 minutes of football when hosting Birmingham in the EFL cup. He also managed at least two in three of his last four games for his previous club and has averaged 2.27 shots per 90 over the course of his four seasons at professional level.
Of the teams Millwall have played, Norwich’s system and Nunez’s attacking midfield role is probably most similar to Sheffield United or Swansea. The Blades’ attacking midfielders – Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge – managed 6 shots between them and the Swans’ attacking midfielders – Olivier Ntcham and Joel Piroe – managed five shots between them. This means we can expect Millwall to offer Nunez some time and space for shots and if given the opportunity, he is not afraid to pull the trigger.
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Prediction: Marcelino Nunez to have 2+ Shots
Murray Wallace to have 1+ Shots
Murray Wallace is now into his fifth season at the Den and he’s been seeing much more of the ball in an attacking area this season at set pieces. He’s averaging 2.75 shots per 90 minutes and has had at least two in every game this season. Given Millwall’s attacking options being limited as a result of injuries, they have had to rely on set pieces and balls into the box as one way of finding the back of the net and given their heights and aerial dominance, it is a strategy that is working.
Norwich’s defence has been strong from set pieces this season, however. It was only in the last game that Huddersfield defender Yuta Nakayama became the first centre back to have a shot against the Canaries. However, Millwall are one of the strongest from set pieces in the league at both ends of the pitch in my opinion and so I fancy them to be able to expose the Norwich defence slightly more. Standing at 188cm, Murray Wallace should be able to add to his massive total of nine and he only needs to connect with one header for this selection to land.
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Prediction: Murray Wallace to have 1+ Shots
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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How to watch Norwich City v Millwall in the Championship
📅 When is Norwich City v Millwall? / Friday, 19th August 2022, 20:00
🏟 Where is Norwich City v Millwall? / Carrow Road (Norwich)
📺 What TV channel is Norwich City v Millwall on? / Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League 🟨 …And who is the referee for Norwich City v Millwall? / R. Jones 🏴
