MILLWALL travel to Burnley in search of their first away win of the season.
Crucially, the Lions are desperate to turn around a poor run of form that sees them winless in their last three matches. Although they were boosted by an incredible comeback away at Swansea City two weeks ago, Gary Rowett’s side were beaten 2-0 by Norwich City just 72 hours later before their 100% home record was ended by Reading the following week.
The results have seen Millwall drop from the very top of the table down to 16th. Fans are beginning to feel concerned about the dip in performance levels and the fixture list doesn’t get any kinder in the coming weeks.
A trip to Burnley is next on the agenda, with the Clarets heading into the clash on the back of a 5-1 win away at Wigan Athletic. Their home form is far from convincing, however, drawing all three of their matches at Turf Moor so far this season. Nonetheless, it’s clear that they’ll be amongst the promotion contenders this season and will provide an incredibly tough test for the Lions later tonight.
Their manager, Vincent Kompany, is a huge name in football. The former Manchester City captain has won four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four EFL Cups in an astounding playing career. In managerial terms, he’s a comparative rookie in the Championship. His career as a head coach started in 2020 with boyhood club Anderlecht, taking them to the final of the Belgian Cup and into the Europa Conference League last season, but this is his first taste of the Championship, a totally different league to anything else he’s faced in the past.
So far, he’s done incredibly well. His job was far from easy, taking over from one of the most successful managers in the club’s history in Sean Dyche. The former Belgian international lost a number of key players over the summer, including the likes of Nick Pope, James Tarkowski, Nathan Collins, Dwight McNeil and Maxwel Cornet.
The sales have given Burnley a lot to spend in the transfer window and they’ve invested the money very well. Kompany has signed a number of players from top European teams while also forging a partnership with former club Manchester City in order to bring in the likes of CJ Egan-Riley and Taylor Harwood-Bellis. The Clarets have also added players from League One, including one of the division’s hottest prospects in the form of Scott Twine.
Millwall don’t boast the same squad depth as their upcoming opponents, and the reality is that, on paper, they don’t have the same quality either. It does place the Lions as firm underdogs heading into the match, especially given their poor away record and factoring in Burnley’s possession-based style of play.
Mason Bennett is still ruled out through injury, with Ryan Leonard joining him on the sidelines after tearing his hamstring in training last week. As things stand, everyone else is fit and available, including Isaac Olaofe, who missed the defeat to Reading after injuring his quad while playing for the under-21’s.
Rowett has hinted that he might change Millwall’s tactics away from home as they look to improve their performances and secure their first win on the road since March 5. One option would be to change to a four-at-the-back formation, most likely a 4-2-3-1. This is a system that he used for the final third of Saturday’s match, helping the Lions to improve despite failing to get on the scoresheet.
This change that would make sense. After all, Millwall are struggling up front and only registered one shot on target against the Royals. However, Burnley’s quality and dominant style of play could put a lot of pressure on the Lions’ back four and they may benefit from having an extra centre-back there as cover. Rowett may prefer to change the personal rather than the system, instead looking to bring in the likes of Zian Flemming and Andreas Voglsammer into his preferred 5-2-1-2 formation.
Millwall don’t have an endless squad, however. When players aren’t performing well, Rowett simply can’t make wholesale changes to try and force a result. There’s still three days left until the summer transfer window closes though, and the Lions are still determined to add one or two new faces to their squad before deadline day on Thursday.
Whether those plans actually materialise is another thing, however. Only one thing is for certain: it won’t be happening before tonight’s trip to Turf Moor.
Millwall predicted XI: 5-2-1-2: Bia?kowski; McNamara, Cresswell, Hutchinson, Cooper, Wallace; Shackleton, Saville; Flemming; Voglsammer, Bradshaw
Match odds: Burnley 3/4 Draw 12/5 Millwall 19/5
Last meeting: EFL Cup (September 23, 2020): Millwall 0-2 Burnley (Brownhill 45′, Vydra 90′)
Photo: Millwall FC