We head into Tuesdays clash against Millwall off the back of a superb 5-1 away win against Huddersfield. Without wanting to speak to soon it appears that Fulham may just have turned a corner from the mess that was last season.
The Den, similar to the John Smiths stadium, has proven to be a relatively happy hunting ground for Fulham in recent times. In fact, should Fulham lose, it’ll be our first ever defeat at the ground- and first loss to Millwall in just over 7 years.
Millwall are currently managed by Gary Rowett, who guided them to an 11th placed finish last season. Millwall have had mixed successes in recent seasons, and came remarkably close to the play offs in 2017/18, their first season after promotion, but finished 8th. Since then, they’ve recorded 21st, another 8th, and last seasons 11th placed finish.
Meanwhile, we should be looking to back up Saturdays excellent showing in Yorkshire with another one here. The Huddersfield game saw a rejuvenated Fulham side featuring a number of players who looked to have found form again, including Ivan Cavaleiro, Jean-Michael Seri and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Mitrovic in particular will be vital to any success we have this season, so it was beyond great to see him both smiling and scoring at the weekend, and I know I’m not the only one hoping that Saturday marked the start of a prolific season for him. Millwall drew 1-1 with Blackburn last time out, but I expect that our firepower going forward will score 2 or 3 to ensure we bring the points back to South West London.
In terms of the starting eleven, I would like to see/ expect to see Ivan Cavaleiro take the place of the suspended Harry Wilson, who was sent off for lashing out in response to a foul at the weekend. Wilson, who is likely to be an incredibly important player for us this season, must know that he’ll be the subject of many fouls this season, so must learn to control his temper after going down, or else he’ll miss a fair chunk of the season! Other than that, every player, to a man, was superb on Saturday. Whilst Millwall is only 3 days on from Huddersfield, they say you’re only tired when you’re losing. And we’re not losing yet- so why would we be tired? Come on you Whites!
WHAT THE MANAGERS HAVE SAID
GARY ROWETT: “We have to be mindful we are playing a very good side but it’s at home and it’s up to us to try and take the game to them with the atmosphere of the fans and make it a difficult night.”
MARCO SILVA: “We’ve analysed them, we played against them during pre-season. Of course they know what to expect from us as well, and it will be for sure a tough game, like always.”
SCORE PREDICTION: MILLWALL 1-2 FULHAM
PREFERRED LINE-UP: 4-2-3-1
H2H LEAGUE RECORD (OVERALL)
- PLAYED – 42
- FULHAM WINS – 18
- DRAWS – 12
- MILLWALL WINS – 12
- GOALS SCORED – 54
- GOALS CONCEDED – 40
H2H LEAGUE RECORD (AWAY)
- PLAYED – 21
- FULHAM WINS – 6
- DRAWS – 8
- MILLWALL WINS – 7
- GOALS SCORED – 24
- GOALS CONCEDED – 25
LAST 5 GAMES
- MILLWALL 1-1 FULHAM
- FULHAM 4-0 MILLWALL
- MILLWALL 1-3 FULHAM (LEAGUE CUP)
- MILLWALL 0-3 FULHAM
- FULHAM 1-0 MILLWALL
PLAYERS IN COMMON
Jordan Archer, Les Barrett, Hameur Bouazza, Matthew Briggs, Roger Cross, Mark Crossley, Jimmy Dunne, Roy Dwight, Ray Evans, Ryan Fredericks, Chris Guthrie, Barry Hayles, Ted Hinton, Terry Hurlock, Shaun Hutchinson, Kasey Keller, Matthew Lawrence, Scott Malone, Paul Moody, Jamie O’Hara, Maik Taylor, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Tony Warner, Robert Wilson.
DID YOU KNOW?
- On 20th January 1974 at the old Den, this fixture was the first league football match in England to be played on a Sunday.
- Fulham’s Alan Slough became the first player to kick the ball on a Sunday with the first touch of the match.
Here’s a Millwall perspective from That Millwall Podcast ahead of tonight’s game in Bermondsey.
What are your expectations for Millwall this season?
My expectations for Millwall this season is to make the play-offs. We have come close over the last couple of years, but I believe this year could be our year, if we can carry more of an attacking intent.
What are your strengths and weaknesses as a squad?
Our strength is our defence. We have one of the best defensive records in the league since Gary Rowett was appointed. However, our weakness is our lack of goals. Hopefully the signings of Benik Afobe and George Saville will solve that.
Where do you think you need to improve while the transfer window is open, if anywhere?
I would like to see us sign one more attacker. A player like Liam Delap would be a fantastic signing. I would love to bring back Jayson Molumby after his successful loan with us a couple of seasons ago too.
If you could have one Fulham player at Millwall, who would you sign and why?
Harry Wilson. He is such a fantastic player, he provides creativity and can score goals himself too. He’s very tricky with his feet and excellent from set-pieces.
How do you see the game panning out?
I think Fulham will dominate the ball and we will look to counter. However Millwall are a lot better at keeping possession than teams give us credit for.
MILLWALL 1-1 FULHAM
