MILLWALL will face Cambridge United in the Carabao Cup for the second consecutive season.
The two teams met at The Den in the second round of the competition in 2021-22, with the Lions securing a 3-1 win thanks to a brace from Murray Wallace and a second-half goal from Matt Smith. This time, Gary Rowett’s side will travel to The Abbey with progression from the first round on the line.
Millwall haven’t made it past the third round of the competition since 2006, and after a summer of impressive transfer business, fans are optimistic that their side can be a threat in domestic cup contests while also competing for a place in the top six.
That confidence will only be improved by Saturday’s 2-0 win against Stoke City, a result that sends the Lions to the top of the division on goal difference after the first matchday. It was an incredibly comfortable home win, albeit that their open-play output was lower than many would’ve hoped. Millwall instead looked to dominate from set pieces, allowing Charlie Cresswell to score a debut brace from two corners.
Cambridge also come into the match on the back of a home win, having beaten League One play-off semi-finalists MK Dons 1-0 at The Abbey on the opening day. Harvey Knibbs’ early strike was enough to give the U’s all three points and secure a first ever victory against the Dons.
These underdog success stories have been a recurring theme in Cambridge’s recent history. Head coach Mark Bonner has often labelled his side as “confident underdogs”, having fought against the odds to win automatic promotion from League Two in 2020-21. Then, while tipped to be the favourites for relegation, they comfortably survived in their first season back in the third tier, finishing 14th.
Not only that, but the U’s pulled off what was arguably the biggest shock result in English football last season, beating a full-strength Newcastle United side at St James’ Park in the third round of the FA Cup. While Millwall will be buoyed by the fact that they beat Cambridge in the Carabao Cup just under 12 months ago, it shows how dangerous they can be against higher-ranked opposition.
They were also the team that asked for the game to be moved a week earlier, meaning that the Lions will head to CB5 a week before any of the other Carabao Cup matches take place. Rowett told NewsAtDen that he was happy to accept the request in order to build up match fitness early on in the season.
“Both teams were quite happy to play that game. Traditionally, you always play the first cup game just after the first league game.
“For me, the first cup game is important because you want to create a little bit of momentum. You want to play your first game but you don’t want to wait another week, the players have had five weeks of training and running, stuff that isn’t as related to games as the start of the season. They want to get on the pitch and they want to play competitive games.
“We were quite happy to play straight away. It gives some of our players the opportunity to go again, it gives some of our players the opportunity to come in and show what they’re about.”
The Millwall boss went on to explain what he’s expecting from the game, having experienced what it’s like to play Cambridge in the Carabao Cup last season.
“I’m expecting a team that’ll be hugely motivated,” Rowett admitted.
“They’re team that are playing at home, but even early on [in last season’s tie] they dominated the game for the first 15 or 20 minutes until we got our performance together and created quite a few good chances.
“They were a good side. I know they’ve done a lot of good work there. It’s at their home ground, so for me it’s about creating our own standards. We’re always massively respectful of our opponents, we have to go there and turn up to see if it’s enough to try and get us through.
“We want to put in a good performance. As a Championship side, if we go and work hard and put a good performance in, then you give yourself a good opportunity to try and get through to the next round.
“I started as a kid at Cambridge, as an apprentice, and I’ve seen them turn so many teams over in the cup. I know what it takes to win a game there and I know what it takes to lose a game for a team in the division above.”
Although Rowett refused to indicate which players could be in line to start at The Abbey, he claimed that Millwall will field a team “that will be good enough and have enough quality to go through”.
He confirmed that Shaun Hutchinson could feature in the match, having missed Saturday’s win after picking up a hamstring injury in training at the end of last week. However, he might not be risked in order to make sure that he’s match fit for Saturday’s trip to Sheffield United.
Most supporters are expecting a heavily rotated side from the one that beat Stoke, with many of the players who didn’t start that game coming into the lineup this evening. This includes the likes of George Evans, George Saville, Mason Bennett and Zian Flemming, although the latter might not be risked from the start in such a game given the importance of the upcoming league matches.
Younger players such as Tyler Burey, Besart Topalloj and Isaac Olaofe may also be given the nod to start. All three featured heavily in pre-season but failed to make the lineup for Saturday’s Championship opener, with the latter two not included in the squad at all.
Should tonight’s match finish level after 90 minutes, there will be a penalty shootout to decide who progresses with no extra time.
Millwall predicted XI: 5-2-1-2: Long; Leonard, Cresswell, Evans, Wallace, Topalloj; Saville, Mitchell; Burey; Olaofe, Bennett
Match odds: Cambridge 10/3 Draw 12/5 Millwall 5/6
Last meeting: Carabao Cup (August 24, 2021): Millwall 3-1 Cambridge (M. Wallace 39, 42, Smith 54; Williams 33)