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

Millwall will be looking to claim a third consecutive victory when they welcome Middlesbrough to The Den for Saturday's Championship contest.

Meanwhile, the visitors will try to produce a response after falling to a heavy defeat in Tuesday's EFL Cup clash with Doncaster Rovers.

Match preview

After finishing in eighth place last term, Millwall will be looking to push on to secure a top-six finish in the 2025-26 campaign.

The Lions made an impressive start to the new season, claiming a 2-1 victory in Saturday's away clash against Norwich City following goals from Camiel Neghli and Macaulay Langstaff.

Millwall enjoyed another successful away trip in midweek as Ryan Leonard scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 victory over Newport County in the EFL Cup first round.

Alex Neil's side are now looking forward to their first home game of the season, with the Lions aiming to start a league campaign with consecutive wins for the first time since 2014-15.

Millwall will certainly take confidence from the fact that they have lost just one of their previous five home league matches against Middlesbrough.

In fact, they have already beaten Middlesbrough at The Den in 2025, with Neghli scoring the only goal of April's home encounter.

Meanwhile, Rob Edwards is still in the early stages of his Middlesbrough tenure after being appointed as Michael Carrick's successor earlier this summer.

The former Luton Town boss got off to a positive start as his new side edged out Swansea City on the opening day of the Championship season.

Dael Fry's 51st-minute effort proved enough to fire Boro to all three points, before they were quickly brought down to earth by a heavy 4-0 defeat in Tuesday's EFL Cup clash against Doncaster Rovers.

The League One side scored two goals in each half to condemn Middlesbrough to a first-round exit for the third time in the past five seasons.

Edwards will have to lift his team for his first away match as Boro head coach, with the visitors looking to begin the league season with back-to-back victories for the first time since 1994-95.

The 42-year-old has never lost to Millwall in his managerial career after seeing his Luton side record one victory and two draws in his three previous meetings with the Lions.

Millwall Championship form:

Millwall form (all competitions):

W W

Middlesbrough Championship form:

W D

Middlesbrough form (all competitions):

W L

Team News

Millwall are expected to be without the services of Lukas Jensen, Joe Bryan and Danny McNamara due to injury.

After making wholesale changes in midweek, Neil is likely to revert to the lineup that started Saturday's win over Norwich.

Last season's top scorer Mihailo Ivanovic will be looking to open his account for the new campaign when he leads the line at The Den.

As for Middlesbrough, George Edmundson and Darragh Lenihan are making progress in their respective recoveries, but Saturday's contest may come too soon for the pair.

Boro will also have to assess the fitness of Alfie Jones and Law McCabe after the pair picked up knocks in the EFL Cup defeat to Doncaster.

Finn Azaz is fit to feature in a matchday squad for the first time this season, although the attacking midfielder will not be risked from the start.

Millwall possible starting lineup:

Benda; Tanganga, Crama, Cooper, Doughty; De Norre, Mitchell; Neghli, Coburn, Azeez; Ivanovic

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Brynn; Ayling, Fry, Jones; Brittain, Morris, Hackney, Silvera; Whittaker, Conway, Burgzorg

We say: Millwall 2-1 Middlesbrough

Millwall will be full of confidence after winning their first two competitive matches of the season, and having won three of their last five home games against Middlesbrough, we think that they will do enough to take maximum points from Saturday's contest.

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