MILLWALL will be looking to topple wobbling Ipswich Town on a high-stakes night at The Den tomorrow.
The Lions are not in great form but have picked up more points since mid-December than the Tractor Boys, underlining how far Kieran McKenna’s side have slipped in recent weeks.
Having not long ago been fighting for top spot with Leicester City, Ipswich have now been swallowed whole by Southampton and Leeds United in the race for second place. They also became the latest unlikely victims in sixth-tier Maidstone United’s incredible FA Cup run at the end of last month.
It does not take away from what an overachievement of a season it has been for the newly-promoted side who will still be hoping to get from League One to the Premier League in the space of two years.
Millwall fans will not want hear the words “League One” at the moment – the Lions will kick-off four points off the bottom three with Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday slowly picking up form.
Joe Edwards’ side, in contrast, have lost four from five league games since New Year’s Day and in their two most recent matches lost away from home against play-off chasing Hull City and Coventry.
At Hull, Millwall started poorly and gradually improved. At Coventry, they started well but came undone due to mistakes in the second half.
The visit of Ipswich – who played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday – could be a welcome challenge and the Lions will hope to generate the type of atmosphere and energy they managed against Ipswich’s rivals Norwich City just after Christmas. That was Millwall’s last win at The Den.
A few weeks before that triumph, the Lions had visited Portman Road in what was Edwards’ third game in charge and were 2-0 down after 12 minutes.
Ipswich would eventually win 3-1 and pick up three more victories in a row before their wobble set in.
The “significant hamstring injury” picked up by striker George Hirst on Boxing Day has not helped while Ipswich also lost an option off the bench when Dane Scarlett was recalled by parent club Tottenham Hotspur.
In response, the Tractor Boys were busy in the transfer window and recruited Jeremy Sarmiento on loan after his colourful half-season spell on loan at West Brom. They also landed striker Kieffer Moore on loan from Bournemouth, and it wasn’t that long ago that the Welsh striker was being heavily linked with Millwall.
The Lions’ three January signings are all still bedding in and Michael Obafemi will be keen to build on an encouraging hour of football at Coventry. Having made costly mistakes against Preston North End and the Sky Blues, Japhet Tanganga will want to have a clean and tidy 90 minutes tomorrow night.
Many eyes will also be drawn to Romain Esse, who will be pushing for back-to-back starts for the first time in his Lions career after his goal at the CBS Arena.
Ipswich’s last win at The Den came in 2017 as Jordan Spence scored a late header to give the visitors an incredible 4-3 victory.
– Stat Station –
- Coventry came from behind to beat Millwall on Sunday, meaning the Lions have now dropped 24 points from winning positions this season. That is more than anyone else in the Championship.
- Ipswich, in contrast, are the comeback kids – they have gained 22 points from losing positions, five more points than anyone else in the division. Millwall have only gained three points from losing positions this season.
- 6 of the last 9 times Millwall have scored the first goal in a game, they have failed to win.
- Michael Obafemi managed 63 minutes against Coventry, his most amount of time spent on the pitch in one game so far for Millwall. He has not completed 90 minutes since October 2022 when he was a Swansea player and has not scored since February 25 2023, by which time he had moved to Burnley.
- Romain Esse made his third Lions start in all competitions and his 32nd Millwall appearance on Sunday. He is still yet to complete 90 minutes.
- Not including midweek red button games, Millwall have lost 4 of their 5 live TV games this season and will be back on the main Sky Sports channel again tomorrow night. They have also won 3 and lost 3 of their 6 midweek games so far this season.
- On December 12 2023, Ipswich won 2-1 at Watford to go top of the Championship and 13 points clear of Southampton. By the time they kick-off at The Den tomorrow, the Tractor Boys could be seven points behind the Saints, who beat Huddersfield Town 5-3 in an extraordinary match on Saturday.
- The 30 league games Ipswich have been involved in this season have produced 95 goals. Millwall’s 31 Championship matches have produced 71 goals.
- 6 of Millwall’s last 8 games have featured a goal in the opening 20 minutes of the match
- Millwall and Ipswich are separated by 27 points in the table but both sides have conceded 40 league goals in the league.
- Ipswich have picked up 9 points from their last 9 games; Millwall have gained 12 points over the same period.
Injury List (5)
Aidomo Emakhu – ankle – last match: vs Bristol City – January 1 – Will miss out; could return on Saturday
Ryan Longman – shoulder/illness – last match: vs Preston – January 27 – Will miss out with illness
Kevin Nisbet – hamstring – last match: vs Preston – January 27 – Minimum two months out
Shaun Hutchinson – calf – last match: vs Bristol City – January 1 – Out for a few weeks
Brooke Norton-Cuffy – hamstring/fatigue – last match: vs Hull – February 3 – Will miss out; could return on Saturday
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Suspension Watch – players with two or more yellows so far (10 yellow cards accumulated in the first 37 games result in a two game suspension).
Jake Cooper – 8 (booked against Middlesbrough, Swansea, Plymouth, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Leicester, Stoke and Norwich)
George Saville – 6 (booked against Stoke, Watford, Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry, Sunderland and Leicester. Sent off against Norwich)
Murray Wallace – 6 (booked against Plymouth, Southampton, Coventry, Leicester, QPR and Hull)
George Honeyman – 5 (booked against Ipswich, QPR, Norwich, Middlesbrough and Preston)
Wes Harding – 4 (booked against Birmingham, Hull, Leicester and Stoke)
Brooke Norton-Cuffy – 4 (booked against Birmingham, Plymouth, Watford and Bristol City)
Ryan Leonard – 4 (booked against Plymouth, Cardiff, Norwich and Bristol City)
Ryan Longman – 4 (booked against Rotherham, Swansea, Southampton and Middlesbrough)
Zian Flemming – 4 (booked against Watford, Ipswich, QPR and Preston)
Danny McNamara – 3 (booked against West Brom, Plymouth and Hull)
Joe Bryan – 3 (booked against Middlesbrough (x2) and Hull)
Billy Mitchell – 3 (booked against Norwich, Stoke and QPR)
Casper De Norre – 3 (booked against Hull (x2) and Ipswich)
Shaun Hutchinson – 2 (booked against Bristol City and Cardiff)
Aidomo Emakhu – 2 (booked against Preston and QPR)
Duncan Watmore – 2 (booked against Sunderland and Norwich)