PREVIEW: Millwall vs. Cardiff - Lions can all but secure safety but have to back up Leicester win with another big ...

MILLWALL can put one foot in the Championship next season if they can secure three points against Cardiff City at The Den. 

Only once in the last 10 seasons has any club been relegated with more than 50 points (Blackburn Rovers, 2016-17) and 50 points is what is waiting for Millwall if they can build upon their victory against Leicester City with another win.

The problem for the Lions is, based on the evidence of what we’ve seen this season, another big performance straight after the triumph over the Foxes appears unlikely.

Millwall have struggled to string together results and strong displays throughout the campaign but their showings at The Den under Neil Harris have been consistently impressive.

The mission is now trying to tap into the sharp and stubborn Millwall that we saw against West Bromwich Albion and Leicester and not the wasteful and error-strewn version that turned up in between at Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town.

If Millwall do win, it could be a seven-point gap between themselves and the drop zone with just three games remaining and the amount of teams down there will provide a cushion that should all but ensure safety.

Saturday’s opponents Cardiff are intriguing in that, unlike the four teams the Lions have played since returning from the international break, the Bluebirds are not fighting for anything.

Their play-off pursuit fizzled out after they lost three of their last five games, leaving them as part of a handful of teams that aren’t looking up or looking down.

Cardiff fans can therefore travel to The Den in peace and enjoy some spring sunshine in the English capital without any pressure.

However, questions hang over the future of manager Erol Bulut with it still being unclear if the club will renew his contract this summer.

The Turkish boss, 49, has taken the Bluebirds forward from this season but has faced criticism over his style of play.

The big story at the beginning of the season regarding Cardiff was the return of Aaron Ramsey. But, after he scored in three of their opening six Championship games, his season has descended into an injury-filled nightmare.

The former Arsenal star, 33, made his first start since September in Wednesday night’s 1-0 win at Birmingham City but went off at half-time with a hamstring issue.

All the expectation will be on Millwall to produce a big performance in their penultimate home game of the season.

Plenty of players came to the fore against Leicester in a way that should give The Den confidence. Billy Mitchell had arguably one of his best displays in a Lions shirt, Michael Obafemi provided more evidence of how dangerous he could be if he hit his full potential while Romain Esse’s 40-minute outing in such a big game would have given the teenager plenty of self-belief.

Ryan Longman has had his critics during this loan spell but his shooting power and willingness to run at opposition full-backs means he’s able to pull off spectacular moments as he showed on Tuesday night. His goal against Leicester will now surely be the moment he will be remembered for in SE16 when his name is brought up in the years to come.

The Lions are also boosted by the fact that striker Kevin Nisbet could return following Tom Bradshaw’s reintroduction off the bench in midweek.

Cardiff have not been victorious at The Den since 2012, failing to win in any of their last six visits. But they did win the reverse fixture in Wales back in December when Matija Sarkic failed to stop Dimitrios Goutas’ header slipping through his fingers 12 minutes from time.

– Stat Station –

• The win over Leicester was Millwall’s final midweek fixture and they have had a mixed record on Tuesday and Wednesdays this season. Their league record reads: Won 4, Drawn 1 and Lost 4.
• Millwall have still yet to concede from open play at The Den in Neil Harris’ four games in charge this season, where he has three wins and a draw. They have also yet to concede in the first half during the same sequence of matches.
• The victory over Leicester means Millwall have matched their best unbeaten home run of the season with four games. They managed 11 home matches in a row unbeaten last season.
• It’s two goals in three games for Ryan Longman after he went 25 appearances without one for the Lions.
• It’s been feast or famine for Cardiff away from home since early November. They have had no draws in their last 14 away games in all competitions: Won 7, Lost 7.
• Defender Perry Ng could be one to watch tomorrow. He has eight goals overall across his Cardiff career and six have come this season.

Elsewhere…

The midweek fixtures brought us the rare spectacle of virtually all of the results elsewhere going in Millwall’s favour. They will hope luck will be on their side when Plymouth Argyle host wounded Leicester tonight, Blackburn Rovers play at Leeds United tomorrow lunchtime and Huddersfield Town go to Bristol City also on Saturday.

The biggest game down at the bottom comes at Hillsborough where Sheffield Wednesday have a must-win game against relegation rivals Stoke City. Gary Rowett’s Birmingham are in desperate need of victory also when they come up against play-off chasing Coventry City at St Andrew’s.

Injury List (4)

Kevin Nisbet – hamstring – last match: vs Preston – January 27 – Could returnJoe Bryan – groin – last match: vs West Brom – March 29 – A ‘couple of weeks’ out from West Brom game on March 29Murray Wallace – back – last match: vs Rotherham – April 1 – Out for the rest of the seasonDuncan Watmore – unknown issue – last match: vs Rotherham – April 1 – Out for ‘a week or so’ from April 6

Suspension Watch – players with two or more yellows so far (15 yellow cards accumulated before the end of the regular season will result in a three game suspension).

George Saville – 10 (booked against Stoke, Watford, Sheffield Wednesday (x2), Coventry, Sunderland and Leicester (x2), Ipswich and Huddersfield)Jake Cooper – 9 (booked against Middlesbrough, Swansea, Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Leicester, Stoke, Norwich and Leeds)Ryan Leonard – 9 (booked against Plymouth, Cardiff, Norwich, Bristol City, Ipswich, Watford, Birmingham, Leeds and Huddersfield)George Honeyman – 9 (booked against Ipswich, QPR, Norwich, Middlesbrough, Preston, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Leeds and Leicester)Murray Wallace – 6 (booked against Plymouth, Southampton, Coventry, Leicester, QPR and Hull)Zian Flemming – 6 (booked against Watford (x2), Ipswich, QPR, Preston and Leeds)Danny McNamara – 6 (booked against West Brom, Plymouth, Hull, Ipswich, Watford and Huddersfield)Joe Bryan – 5 (booked against Middlesbrough (x2), Hull, Birmingham and West Brom)Wes Harding – 4 (booked against Birmingham, Hull, Leicester and Stoke)Brooke Norton-Cuffy – 4 (booked against Birmingham, Plymouth, Watford and Bristol City)Ryan Longman – 4 (booked against Rotherham, Swansea, Southampton and Middlesbrough)Billy Mitchell – 4 (booked against Norwich, Stoke, QPR and Huddersfield)Casper De Norre – 3 (booked against Hull (x2) and Ipswich)Japhet Tanganga – 3 (booked against Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton and Blackburn)Shaun Hutchinson – 2 (booked against Bristol City and Cardiff)Aidomo Emakhu – 2 (booked against Preston and QPR)Duncan Watmore – 2 (booked against Sunderland and Norwich)Matija Sarkic – 2 (booked against Southampton and Leicester)