The visitors are in eighth place after typically outperforming the host team throughout the first few weeks, while the home team is down in 16th place in the rankings.
Match preview
After defeating Middlesbrough in the North-East on the first weekend, Gary Rowett likely believed his Millwall team was in a prime position to continue pursuing promotion this year.
But the subsequent 4-0 EFL Cup loss to Reading has unsettled the Lions, who have subsequently lost consecutive league games against Bristol City and Norwich City.
Rowett must keep his attention on the present players to break their current losing trend while also considering methods to upgrade his squad before the end of the summer transfer window.
A total of eight goals have been conceded in the aforementioned three fixtures, those being shipped in succession before a last-minute consolation at Carrow Road.
At a time when Millwall are having to go back to the drawing board, Stoke – one of Rowett’s former clubs – appear to be in a good place after an array of arrivals over the summer.
Losing tamely to current leaders Ipswich Town would have concerned Alex Neil, even though there was an acknowledgement that he had got his tactics wrong in East Anglia.
That remains the solitary blip, though, with Stoke winning three fixtures in a row at the bet365 Stadium, their league victories coming against Rotherham Unied and Watford.
The Hornets had not conceded a goal in the Championship before Andre Vidigal netted the only strike in the latter encounter last weekend.
Neil must now learn from the mistakes made at Portman Road to show that Stoke are adaptable on their travels with this squad looking strong enough in quality and depth to last the pace in 2023-24.
Team News
Rowett will inevitably make changes to his Millwall XI for this fixture, with Tom Bradshaw in line to replace Kevin Nisbet in attack.
George Evans and Andreas Voglsammer will also feel in contention to feature in midfield and the final third respectively.
However, Aidomo Emakhu will likely remain among the replacements despite scoring his first Millwall goal as a substitute versus Norwich.
As for Stoke, Neil may be prepared to select the same starting lineup unless he opts to reintroduce Ryan Mmaee to a front three.
Nikola Jojic and Mehdi Leris have moved to the Potters this week, but a spot on the bench is a best-case scenario for each player.
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; McNamara, Hutchinson, Cooper, Wallace; Evans, Saville; Voglsammer, Flemming, Watmore; Bradshaw
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Travers; McNally, Rose, Wilmot; Hoever, Thompson, Laurent, Johnson, Stevens; Vidigal, Wesley
We say: Millwall 1-2 Stoke City
At some point, the assumption is that this Millwall squad will eventually start to click and make a playoff push. For now, though, we can only back a Stoke side who have settled well, and their extra firepower could prove key in the closing stages.
