MILLWALL will be an “incredibly difficult” challenge for Burton Albion this weekend, according to Brewers boss Nigel Clough.
Clough is expecting a “scrap and battle” at The Den and said he is not surprised by the solid start Millwall have made this season.
The Lions have beaten a number of Championship promotion favourites at home, while Burton haven’t won in seven and are without a victory on the road this season.
The Brewers have the worst defensive record in the division, having conceded 31 goals, and only Birmingham have hit the back of the net fewer times.
The clubs have met only once before at The Den, when Aiden O’Brien and Lee Gregory (above) scored in a 2-0 win in the season Burton got promoted from League One and Millwall lost the play-off final.
Burton finished 20th in their first ever season in the Championship, a point outside the relegation zone, and are currently second from bottom this campaign, only Bolton picking up fewer points.
Neil Harris rested O’Brien, Gregory and Steve Morison for the midweek fixture at Sheffield Wednesday, a 2-1 defeat.
The trio are likely to return to the starting line-up on Saturday, while Tony Craig could replace the suspended Jake Cooper in the centre of defence.
“It will be incredibly difficult,” Clough told Burton’s official website ahead of this weekend. “They rested three of their main players against Sheffield Wednesday so I think they have targeted our fixture as an opportunity to get three points.
“Neil Harris left his two main strikers out so they will be fit to go and we will have to deal with them. Gregory and Morison were a handful in League One and they are at this level. They get the ball up to them and play from there. They are very effective the way they play and are a very good, solid team and given all the surroundings when you go to Millwall, it is a difficult place to go.
“It will be a scrap and battle, certainly. They have surprised some people but not us. Even from the first day of the season they went to Nottingham Forest and had 20-odd shots, lost 1-0 but could easily have won.
“They set their stall out at the start of the season to be positive and think like us last season they will see their home form as crucial to staying in the league.”
Image: Millwall FC