Preview: Millwall vs West Ham United - prediction, team news, lineups

West Ham United make the short trip to The Den to face Millwall on Saturday looking to strengthen their position at the top of the Championship table.

Although the home side sit down in 11th place, they can move to within one point of their East London rivals with a win.

Match preview

Nuno Espirito Santo saw a six-game unbeaten streak across all competitions come to an end on Tuesday as West Ham suffered a 3-2 defeat to Fulham in the EFL Cup third round.

Nevertheless, the Portuguese may see the positives in his team now being able to focus on the Championship until the start of 2027.

Four victories in succession have taken the Hammers to the top of the table on goal difference, a consequence of netting six more strikes than any other team in the division.

Impressively, West Ham have scored at least three goals in each of those aforementioned successes, including the 6-0 demolition of Wrexham last week.

West Ham have kept just two clean sheets this season, both at the London Stadium, yet six goals conceded in four away fixtures across all competitions is not the worst return.

Millwall boss Alex Neil will be disappointed that his team have suffered four defeats in six games since August 29.

However, collecting four points from their most recent Championship fixtures against Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough have kept the Lions just four points adrift of Saturday's opponents.

Despite giving up a two-goal lead at Middlesbrough on Tuesday night, Neil will be relatively satisfied with a share of the spoils against a free-scoring title contender.

The concern for the Scot will be the amount of goals that Millwall are conceding. Despite a clean sheet versus Bolton, 13 goals have been shipped in five Championship matches.

This is the first competitive encounter between these two East London rivals since West Ham prevailed by a 2-1 scoreline in the Championship in February 2012.

Millwall Championship form:

Millwall form (all competitions):

West Ham United Championship form:

West Ham United form (all competitions):

Team News

Despite the potential need for fresh legs, Neil may name a similar Millwall XI from the game at Middlesbrough.

Tairyk Arconte should continue to lead the line after his third goal in six Championship starts, with Lyndon Dykes playing in a deeper role.

Although Luke Cundle was back in the squad for the trip to the Riverside Stadium, the likes of Alfie Doughty, Casper De Norre and Mihailo Ivanovic remain sidelined through injury.

Joel Veltman is a fitness doubt for West Ham after his first-half withdrawal against Wrexham and absence from the Fulham game.

Kyle Walker-Peters is on standby to deputise at right-back, but Nuno seems likely to name the remainder of the team from the six-goal win over Wrexham.

While Pablo scored versus Fulham, Taty Castellanos is in line to be recalled to the starting lineup.

Millwall possible starting lineup:

Crocombe; Osei-Tutu, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge; Metcalfe, Mazou-Sacko; Sykes, Dykes, Neghli; Arconte

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Kilman, Morato; Bowen, Mukasa, Engels, Solomon; Piroe, Castellanos

We say: Millwall 1-3 West Ham United

While Millwall will take encouragement from their draw at Middlesbrough, the work that they put in and the travel ahead of their biggest game of the season is far from ideal. With that in mind, we expect a fresher West Ham outfit to earn a deserved win on away territory.

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