MILLWALL will face one final pre-season test in the form of League One outfit Ipswich Town.
With just over a week until the start of the Championship campaign, the Lions will be stepping up their preparations ahead of facing Stoke City at The Den on the opening day.
Gary Rowett’s side have had a good pre-season so far, suffering a 5-4 defeat against Crystal Palace before beating Bromley, Dartford and Colchester United. The club also hosted Swedish Allsvenskan side Hammarby IF in the inaugural HUSKI Chocolate derby, losing 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
Crucially, all five of Millwall’s new signings have been able to make their respective debuts, with Benik Afobe finding the back of the net three times since returning to Bermondsey on a permanent basis. George Honeyman and Charlie Cresswell have also impressed, while Zian Flemming and Jamie Shackleton have been able to gain valuable match minutes before the start of the competitive season.
Ipswich will provide a different test to what the Lions have faced so far. The Tractor Boys are undoubtedly stronger than the likes of Dartford and Colchester, and Rowett told NewsAtDen that they will likely pose a similar threat to a Championship-level opponent.
“They’re a good side. I know Kieran (McKenna), I did my UEFA Pro License with him, he’s a bright young manager. They’ll play in quite a technical way, they’ll try to keep possession and give us one or two problems in different ways.
“It’s just another test for us, a top end League One side. We’ve had some good, varied challenges in terms of style of play and level of opposition, and it’ll be another one against Ipswich. It’ll be pretty close to a Championship game and that’s the aim for it.
“It won’t be a reflection on either team for where the season ends up. Of course we played them last season at their place and beat them, but they didn’t really have any bearing on the season and it’ll be the same this time whatever happens.. But it’ll be a good game for us, a good test and it’ll give us a bit of an idea about some of the challenges and some of the good things we’ve got with our squad at the moment.”
Ipswich will be gunning for automatic promotion next season as they head into their fourth consecutive campaign in League One. The Tractor Boys were the bookies’ pre-season title favourites last year after signing a number of Championship-calibre players in the summer transfer window, but ultimately fell short of the play-off places as they finished 11th.
Despite being Millwall’s last friendly match of pre-season, Rowett indicated that the team he chooses to start against Ipswich will “not necessarily” be the same one that faces Stoke next weekend.
“I think we’re just trying to learn little things and have an idea of what we might look to play against Stoke. You play one team, one player doesn’t do very well, someone comes off the bench and does really well and it gives you food for thought.
“We know our squad, we know the options that we have for Stoke. We’ll try to pick those options wisely for the right game, but we need every player to be motivated and ready to play their part. Of course, only 11 can start in the first game and I certainly wouldn’t say that whatever team starts against Ipswich will definitely start against Stoke.”
However, it is likely that the Lions will choose a similar side to the one that faced Hammarby in midweek, with that being near to the strongest lineup that Rowett can field.
Cresswell could be brought back into the team after being benched for the first half on Wednesday evening, but it remains to be seen as to who drops out if that does happen. Fellow Leeds loanee Shackleton might be given his first start, although the Lions may opt to play Billy Mitchell instead after he was rested in Millwall’s last match.
Bartosz Bia?kowski will likely be given the chance to face his former team once again, having played 168 games for Ipswich Town between 2014 and 2019.
Possible Millwall XI: 5-2-1-2: Bia?kowski; McNamara, Cresswell, Hutchinson, Cooper, Malone; Honeyman, B. Mitchell; Flemming; Bradshaw, Afobe
Last meeting: Pre-season friendly (July 31, 2022): Ipswich Town 0-3 Millwall (Afobe 39, 52, Wallace 56)