Is Bristol City v Millwall on or off? Can I watch it on TV? Injury & team news

Bristol City usher in a new year as they welcome Millwall to Ashton Gate Stadium for their first game of 2022.

The Robins play their second consecutive home game of the festive period after a 2-1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers two days ago.

Alex Scott scored his third goal of the campaign and there was a strong performance but an injury time winner from Yoann Barbet gave the side from London the win.

Now City are hoping that they can gain a positive result against another side who make the trip to B36 from the capital.

The Lions enter the game having defeated Coventry City 1-0 away from home on December 29.

That was their first game of the festive period after their Boxing Day game against Swansea City was called off due to a number of positive COVID-19 cases.

What’s the latest team news for Bristol City?

Nigel Pearson raised a few eyebrows with his team selection against QPR with a change in shape and key personnel. Max O’Leary came in for captain Daniel Bentley whilst the ever present Chris Martin dropped to the bench. Despite the defeat it was a performance which earned a round of applause for fans, given the positivity of Pearson, he may be inclined to stick with a similar team.

Centre midfielder Andy King is serving a suspension after receiving two yellow cards against QPR, meanwhile midfielder Joe Williams (hamstring) and defender Nathan Baker (concussion) remain out through injuries.

Unfortunately after a return to the side, George Tanner will have to spend more times on the sidelines after doing his hamstring

Queens Park Rangers are in talks with Kasey Palmer over a possible move to Loftus Road so it is expected that he will continue to be excluded from the squad.

Jay DaSilva and Nahki Wells have also been linked with moves away but have been included in the match day squads, though both have only played a small role.

What’s the latest team news for Millwall? 

In the Lions last match they were down to the bare bones with a squad of just 14 first-team players.

As a result they had to seek permission from a school over one of their players, despite it being the festive period.

Academy youngster Zak Lovelace, who is just 15-years old, was called up and came on as a substitute in a one-minute cameo.

Nana Boateng and Bart Topalloj, two other younger players were also part of a squad which had five academy products.

One player who will be of note to City is former striker Benik Afobe, who spent the 2019/20 season there. He scored three goals in his first five games for the Robins but suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury which ruled him out for much of the campaign. He returned as a result of the season being moved into June by COVID but he was unable to add any more goals.

Midfield trio Connor Mahoney, Jed Wallace and Ryan Leonard are expected to miss out through injury. Wallace is a big miss given his six assists and four goals in 19 appearances.

Wales striker Tom Bradshaw, who netted the winner last week, is their top scorer this season with six goals, so the City defence will have their work hard to contain him.

Is the game on?

There is one last round of testing to take place today before the game takes place. As a result of the late call off between Blackburn Rovers and Hull City a few days ago, the league changed the rules.

No testing will take place on the day of the game, which means submitted squad lists the day before will have to be accepted.

The ruling is that a team must have less than 14 first-team players and a recognised goalkeeper for the game to be off.

We have seen however today that games can still be called off despite no testing on the day. Bristol Rovers were due to play Leyton Orient on New Years Day but after consultation with the league, it was postponed.

Whilst COVID-19 can still be transmissible to those who have received protection against the virus, most of City’s squad are vaccinated with 95 percent of their squad fully vaccinated.

They went to a vaccination clinic in Nailsea last month for their booster jabs which would mean that they wouldn’t be as affected by self isolation rules.

Head-to-head

It’s been fairly tight in the 102 meetings between these two sides with the first stemming back to November 1922. City have registered 36 wins to Millwall’s 34 whilst there have been 32 draws.

The recent omens aren’t great for Nigel Pearson’s side as they have only won once in their last five games against Millwall. They’ve also failed to keep a clean sheet in eight out of their last 10 matches.

You have to go back ten years for City’s last home win against Bristol City, that was a 1-0 win in which Nicky Maynard scored a stoppage-time winner.

Millwall are hoping to do a league double given they defeated City 1-0 at The Den back in September with Jed Wallace scoring the only goal.

Is the match on TV?

Yes. If you’re not attending the game tomorrow then this is one of the games you can watch from the comfort of your own home. If you’re a Sky Sports subscriber you can watch the game on the Red Button. You’ll also be able to watch it on your phone if you access the Sky Sports website and go to the Championship fixtures.

Robins TV will also be providing a live stream which is available for £9.99 and will have multi-camera angles, as well as a pre-match show.

How can I watch highlights?

Tune in at the usual time of 9.00 pm on Quest to catch the EFL on Quest if you missed the game or want to see what happened at the game you were at. 

As it’s an earlier kick-off, you’ll be able to catch some of the goals throughout the day on Sky Sports News.