Preview: Burnley vs Millwall - prediction, team news, lineups

Championship side Millwall will travel to Turf Moor for Saturday’s FA Cup third-round meeting with Premier League Burnley.

The Lions will carry a four-game unbeaten run into the cup fixture, while the Clarets have failed to win any of their last 11 matches.

Match preview

After winning promotion last term, Burnley are already staring down the barrel of an immediate return to the second tier, having taken just 13 points from their 20 league matches.

In fact, Scott Parker's side have picked up just three points from 12 games since recording back-to-back victories over Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in October.

They did at least show great fight to pick up a point from Wednesday's home clash against Manchester United, which saw Jaidon Anthony net a 66th-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw, representing the first time that Burnley have scored twice in a home game against the Red Devils since 1968.

The Clarets will look to build upon their midweek display in Saturday's FA Cup tie, with the hosts aiming to progress beyond the third round for the third time in four seasons.

Their hopes of advancing may be tempered by the fact that they have lost each of their previous three FA Cup ties as a Premier League club.

With that said, they have at least won each of their last three home meetings with Millwall, including a 3-1 success in their most recent meeting in May 2025.

Millwall are dreaming of playing top-flight football for the first time since 1989-90, with the Lions sitting in fifth place and just three points adrift of the automatic promotion spots.

The Lions have taken eight points from four matches since losing consecutive games against Hull City and Blackburn Rovers, including a 2-1 success in Sunday’s home meeting with Swansea City.

Mihailo Ivanovic saw his opener cancelled out by Ben Cabango before Caleb Taylor netted a dramatic stoppage-time winner to secure a fourth victory in six home games.

Their Championship campaign may be the priority, but Millwall will be keen to continue to build momentum in Saturday’s cup tie, as they look to avoid a third-round exit for the fourth time in five seasons.

However, Millwall’s underwhelming away form suggests that it will be difficult to eliminate their Premier League opponents, having won just one of their previous seven road trips (D3, L3).

They have also not beaten Burnley at Turf Moor since a young Harry Kane scored in a 3-1 Championship victory in February 2012.

Burnley form (all competitions):

L D D L L D

Millwall form (all competitions):

L L D W D W

Team News

Burnley are contending without the services of Connor Roberts, Jordan Beyer, Josh Cullen, and Zeki Amdouni.

There are also doubts over the availability of Mike Tresor, Joe Worrall and former Millwall striker Zian Flemming.

Defender Axel Tuanzebe could feature in the matchday squad after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations following DR Congo's last-16 exit at the hands of Algeria.

Parker could rotate his squad for the cup clash, which could result in starting berths for the likes of Max Weiss, Oliver Sonne, Jacob Bruun Larsen and Anthony.

Meanwhile, the visitors will be unable to call upon Daniel Kelly, Zak Lovelace, Will Smallbone, Massimo Luongo and Lukas Jensen.

Josh Coburn is closing in on a return from a quad injury, although it remains to be seen whether he will be ready for the trip to Turf Moor.

The game may also come too soon for the midfield duo of Casper De Norre and Luke Cundle, who are recovering from calf and shoulder injuries respectively.

Joe Bryan, Alfie Doughty and Aidomo Emakhu are among those who could come into the side if Alex Neil opts to rotate his starting lineup.

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Weiss; Ekdal, Esteve, Humphreys; Sonne, Ugochukwu, Florentino, Hartman; Bruun Larsen, Anthony; Foster

Millwall possible starting lineup:

Benda; McNamara, Taylor, Cooper, Bryan; Leonard, Doughty; Bangura-Williams, Langstaff, Emakhu; Ivanovic

We say: Burnley 1-0 Millwall

This game is a tough one to call, especially with both teams likely to make changes for the cup tie, although as the Premier League side, Burnley should benefit from greater squad depth than their opponents.

The Clarets also tend to fare well in home games against the Lions, and with that in mind, we think that they will do enough to claim a narrow win on Saturday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.