NEWSATDEN looks at all of Millwall’s 23 opponents ahead of the 2018-19 Championship season.
Next up, Lucas Ball examines Hull City’s prospects.
Name: Hull City
Nickname: The Tigers
Manager: Nigel Adkins
Stadium: KCOM Stadium (25,404)
Postcode: HU3 6HU
Club website: www.hullcitytigers.com
Nearest train station: Hull Paragon Interchange
Match-day directions: footballgroundguide.com
Promotion odds (Sky Bet): 14/1
Last meeting: Sky Bet Championship – Hull 1-2 Millwall [Abel Hernandez 79′; George Saville 1′, Jake Cooper 33′]; March 6, 2018
Last season: 18th in Sky Bet Championship
Goals for: 70
Goals against: 70
Top league goal scorer: Jarrod Bowen (14)
First-team 2018-19 transfers
Ins: Reece Burke [£1.7 million from West Ham]; David Milinkovic [£300k from Genoa]; Eric Lichaj [undisclosed from Nottingham Forest]; Jordy de Wijs [undisclosed from PSV]; George Long [undisclosed from Sheffield United]; Todd Kane [loan from Chelsea]
Outs: Allan McGregor [free transfer to Rangers]; Greg Olley [free transfer to Gateshead]; Max Clark [free transfer to Vitesse]; David Meyler [free transfer to Reading]; Michael Dawson [free transfer to Nottingham Forest]; Greg Luer [free transfer to Woking]; Sebastian Larsson [free transfer to AIK]; Abel Hernandez; Moses Odubajo; Josh Clackstone [all released]
Nigel Adkins has moved swiftly in an attempt to strengthen his squad following last season’s disappointing 18th-place finish.
The club say that they could not afford to re-sign Abel Hernandez due to high wage demands, which may be why he is still without a club after spending much of 2017-18 out with injury, taking away a key part of the Tigers’ attack.
Former Southampton boss Adkins has taken the opportunity to remove some of the older ‘dead wood’ from the squad, as many fans saw it, allowing him to re-build with a younger, hungrier core – much like the job Neil Harris had on his hands at Millwall three years ago.
Prediction: Mid-table
Losing the services of Hernandez cost Hull last season at times and it may do again, although they have strengthened in their weakest area of 2017-18 when they had a very leaky defence.
The squad is unlikely to be challenging for promotion, or even the play-offs, but this should be a year of mid-table comfort at the KCOM.
Millwall vs. Hull City – Saturday December 8, 2018 [Kick-off: 3pm]
Hull City vs. Millwall – Saturday February 16, 2019 [Kick-off: 3pm]
Image: Millwall FC