MILLWALL return to action this evening with a London derby against QPR.
The Lions haven’t played since September 3 due to the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II. It meant that the most recent round of fixtures were called off at the last minute as the country entered the mourning period at the end of last week.
Instead of travelling up to Sunderland, Millwall played an in-house friendly match to prepare for their upcoming match at home to QPR.
This match could be one of the defining moments of the Lions’ season for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is the only London derby to take place in the 2022-23 Championship campaign, obviously barring the return fixture at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium next year. While Millwall and QPR aren’t exactly traditional rivals, there will undoubtedly be an extra layer of tension as a result.
Secondly, the result could either continue the club’s positive momentum or grind it to an agonising halt as we’ve already seen earlier in the season. Gary Rowett’s side have failed to win consecutive games at any point since the start of the campaign, and the Millwall boss will be desperate to build on their impressive performance against Cardiff City just under two weeks ago.
The same could really be said of QPR, who have undergone a summer of transition after parting company with Mark Warburton at the end of last season. The R’s ended up bringing in Michael Beale as his replacement, although this is his first job in senior management.
Despite that, he arrived in West London with a strong reputation. Beale had coached in Liverpool’s academy before becoming assistant manager to Rogério Ceni at Brazilian side São Paulo. He returned from South America just six months later to work under Steven Gerrard at Rangers, where he was often cited as the brains behind the operation that helped end Celtic’s dominance in the Scottish Premiership.
Beale followed Gerrard to Premier League outfit Aston Villa, but a job in senior management proved to be too tempting as he left for QPR. Gerrard’s Villans have since come under a huge amount of scrutiny following a dire start to the current season, with many citing the departure of his assistant manager as the turning point.
As a result, many expected that the R’s would be able to bridge the gap to the top six this season, although supporters have realised that there may be a longer period of transition than many expected. The club released six senior players at the end of last season before selling Jordy de Wijs to Fortuna Düsseldorf soon after.
As for incomings, they’ve only brought in free transfers and loans, with Europa League finalist Leon Balogun possibly the biggest name to join on a permanent basis. The likes of Tyler Roberts [Leeds United] and Ethan Laird [Manchester United] are also fairly well known, albeit that they’ll only be in West London for the current campaign.
After eight games, QPR find themselves sat in eighth place with three wins, two draws and three losses. Their most recent result, a 1-0 defeat at Swansea City, highlighted the start of their season pretty well. Beale’s men (somehow) managed to control possession but were blunt in attack, losing to an early goal from Joel Piroe.
In a similar way to how Millwall will need to help their new signings adapt to life at SE16, Beale will need to be patient as his squad adapts to their new 4-3-3 formation. The R’s played in a 5-2-1-2 system for much of Warburton’s reign, meaning that his players will need to get used to playing with an extra body in midfield and one less at centre-back, as well as utilising wide players in the final third instead of wing-backs.
The Lions, however, will almost certainly be sticking to Rowett’s preferred 5-2-3 formation. Mason Bennett, Ryan Leonard and Shaun Hutchinson will remain sidelined until the end of the international break, although the Millwall boss is hopeful that Tyler Burey can recover in time after injuring his knee against Cardiff City.
Millwall predicted XI: Bialkowski; McNamara, Cresswell, Cooper, Wallace, Styles; Shackleton, Saville; Flemming, Afobe, Voglsammer
Match odds: Millwall 13/10 Draw 11/5 QPR 21/10
Last meeting: Championship (February 15, 2021): Millwall 2-0 QPR (Bennett 48′, Burey 64′)
Photo: Millwall FC