Millwall are now one of the most established teams in the Championship having been in the division since 2017. They narrowly missed out on the play-offs last season, finishing eighth, and will be hoping to take the next step this season.

They currently sit sixth with 35 points under the stewardship of former Norwich manager Alex Neil.

Form-wise things aren’t looking so great. They’re without a win in their last three having lost to Blackburn and Hull after a 1-1 draw with Derby

Goalkeepers

Millwall have four keepers on the books but it’s Max Crocombe who is the current owner of the shirt. The New Zealander has previously spent time at Burton and Grimsby, and this season’s 13 appearances are his first taste of the Championship at 32 years of age. He’s made 47 saves and prevented 0.04 goals, which is pretty much as middling as it gets.

Steven Benda, on loan from Fulham, started the season in goal but an injury in October saw him lose his place.

Lukas Jensen, who made 41 starts last season, has yet to make an appearance this term whilst former Town third-choice keeper Joel Coleman is also part of the squad.

Defenders

The two undroppables in the Millwall defence this season have been Tristan Crama and Jake Cooper.

I first came across Crama when writing a preview for a Bristol Rovers game back in 2023 and he already looked like an exciting prospect then. He’s since moved to Exeter and was picked up by Millwall halfway through last season. The 24-year-old Frenchman can cover centre-back and right-back and has had a productive season so far, doing his defensive duties but also chipping in with two goals and two assists.

Cooper has been with Millwall since 2017 and now has 408 appearances for the club. He’s left-footed, providing balance in the defence and stands at a towering 6ft 5in tall.

Both Crama and Cooper are at the top end of the defensive metrics with 367 blocks and clearances between them already. Crama also has 55 tackles and interceptions combined to his name. As you’d expect from a Millwall side, they will prove very hard to break down.

The defence is then overloaded at left-back but lacking cover on the other side. The Lions have Joe Bryan and Alfie Doughty, who both come with Premier League experience with Fulham and Luton respectively, competing for the left-back spot along with former Chelsea academy prospect Zak Sturge.

Danny McNamara is the right-back cover but has struggled in two of his three starts, dropping stinkers against Blackburn and Portsmouth.

In contrast, Caleb Taylor, who never made the grade at West Brom, is looking good this season and has put in a series of solid performances at centre-back.

Wes Harding had a strong start to the season but he’s slowly been phased out of the team and now largely spend his time on the bench.

Midfielders

Midfield is proving to be a problem area for the Lions currently with Billy Mitchell, Will Smallbone, Luke Cundle, Derek Mazou-Sacko, Massimo Luongo and Ryan Leonard already on the sidelines before Casper De Norre and Dan Kelly joined them.

Doughty and winger Cameil Neghli filled in there against Hull, whilst Crama could also cover there if needed.

Fortunately for the Lions, Mitchell and Leonard were able to take to the pitch against Blackburn but won’t be fully up to speed. Both are experienced Championship campaigners, so it shouldn’t take them too long before they’re flying into tackles again.

Reese Bangura-Williams, who is more of an attacking midfielder, could also play there but that would be a lot to ask of the 21-year-old youth prospect.

Forwards

It’s more bad news for Millwall in the attacking areas with Femi Azeez missing following his straight red card against Hull City. The right winger is Millwall's top goalscorer this season with six goals so will be a big miss.

Whilst the Lions have experience in defence and midfield, their forwards are more of a youthful nature. With Azeez missing, Aidomo Emakhu played on the right against Blackburn. The young Irishman can play either side and has one goal and one assist in 10 appearances.

One the other side was 23-year-old Austrian Thierno Bally who is on loan from Wolfsberger AC. He scored 10 goals in the Austrian Bundesliga in the 24/25 season but hasn’t quite been able to convert that form to the Championship although he does have four assists to his name so far.

Cameil Neghli has already been mentioned in the midfield section, but the Algerian’s natural position is on the right wing. He’s played there seven times, as a number 10 four times and on the left once.

Leading the line is Serbian Mihailo Ivanovic. The striker took the Championship by storm last season in his first season in England with 12 goals but has had a slow start to this one, only finding the back of the net four times. Three of those have come in his last eight games, so the tide could slowly be turning. Like a lot of number nines in the division this season, he is underperforming his xG by 2.7

His back-up is former Notts County striker Macauley Langstaff. The 28-year-old scored 28 goals in 46 appearances in League Two but has just two in 49 in the Championship.

Josh Coburn is also part of the squad. The former Middlesbrough target man has made a solid start to his Millwall career but is currently out of action with a thigh injury.

The Teams

Rotation has given way to stable teams in recent times but with another chunk of games in quick succession there could be some tweaks for this one. Looking at the next three games, Oxford at home represents the easiest on paper but as we know from the away fixture, things often don’t play out like that.

For this one, I think we’ll go largely unchanged with just Ivan Azon coming in for the injured George Hirst.

For Millwall, I'd expect Crama to shift back to right-back allowing Taylor come in, with Bryan coming in at left-back. Midfield options as mentioned above are limited, so I don’t foresee any changes there whilst Bangura-Williams could come in to freshen up the attack.

Prediction

Given their injury crisis and Azeez’s suspension, there isn’t a better time to play the Lions. Similar to Sheffield Wednesday, the first goal will be crucial. Town haven’t lost when they’ve scored first and haven’t won when they’ve conceded first.

Get the first goal and a comfortable 2-0 win could be on the cards.

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