Preview: Millwall vs. Luton Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking to build on a convincing home success prior to the international break, Millwall will welcome recently-relegated Luton Town to The Den for a tasty-looking Championship clash on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions have struggled with inconsistency at the beginning of the campaign, whilst the Hatters are seemingly hungover from their Premier League adventures during the 2023-24 season.

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Match preview

© Reuters

After replacing Joe Edwards during the second half of the 2023-24 term and guiding the club to second-tier safety, Neil Harris has been handed the responsibility to guiding this Millwall side to hopefully compete in the upper echelons of the division, with a promotion push the dream of supporters at The Den.

That being said, the Lions have not enjoyed the most productive start to their Championship journey this campaign, with Saturday's hosts enduring a three-game winless run at the very beginning of the term before turning on the style against Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of August.

Just seven days after a lacklustre goalless draw at the MKM Stadium versus Hull City, Millwall were at their clinical best against Danny Rohl's stuttering Sheffield Wednesday, with second-half strikes from summer arrival Josh Coburn, Duncan Watmore and Jake Cooper securing a 3-0 victory.

Making the net ripple for the fourth time already in the second tier with an effort against the Owls, former Sunderland youngster Watmore is an early frontrunner in the race for the Championship's Golden Boot award, currently sharing top spot with Josh Maja and Mark Harris.

Following a commendable return of 23 goals across two campaigns at The Den, Zian Flemming departed Millwall for title contenders Burnley on the final day of the summer transfer window, meaning that the Lions are now without a flying Dutchman who served them so well in recent times.

© Imago

Following a fairytale story of reaching the Premier League for the first time in their history last year, Luton Town have been brought swiftly back down to Earth with an immediate first-tier relegation and a woeful start to their quest for a promotion charge in this season's Championship.

A share of the spoils due to a goalless draw at newly-promoted Portsmouth is the only positive result that the recently-relegated Hatters have managed in the second tier so far in 2024-25, meaning that they sit 23rd in the early league table, already 11 points behind pacesetters Sunderland.

Boasting attacking talent such as Elijah Adebayo, Tahith Chong and Carlton Morris, Luton are surprisingly struggling to breach the net of their second-tier opponents to date, with Saturday's visitors to The Den scoring just twice across four league contests - only bottom side Cardiff City (1) have managed fewer strikes.

Desperately aiming to turn their fortunes around in order to mount a serious top-six charge, the Hatters have been active in the free agent market following the closing of the summer transfer window, with former Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder Victor Moses joining the Kenilworth Road club.

Each of the last three meeting between Millwall and Luton in the Championship have ended in a share of the points, although the Hatters' most recent victory against this weekend's opposition arrived at The Den in October 2021, when Harry Cornick bagged a brilliant brace in a 2-0 win.

Millwall Championship form:

Millwall form (all competitions):

Luton Town Championship form:

Luton Town form (all competitions):

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Team News

© Imago

Millwall remain without the services of midfielder Billy Mitchell, who is targeting a return to action at the end of the month after suffering a hip injury at the beginning of August.

Even if Mitchell was available, it would be unlikely that Harris to alter his engine room of George Saville and Casper de Norre following the thrashing of Sheffield Wednesday last time out.

After suffering a slight knock in the draw at Hull, Lukas Jensen played in net before the international break and should retain his spot this weekend.

Playing on 10 occasions for Luton in the Premier League following his arrival in January, Daiki Haskioka is yet to be introduced to the stresses of Championship football due to a leg injury.

The Hatters are also unable to call upon the talents of Jacob Brown, who is currently fighting his way back from fitness woes which have seen him play no part since February.

Millwall possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Leonard, Cooper, Tanganga, Bryan; Saville, De Norre, Esse, Honeyman, Watmore; Coburn

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We say: Millwall 1-0 Luton Town

With a recently-relegated side arriving at The Den this weekend, Millwall should be raring to put in a aggressive performance against a faltering Luton outfit.

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