Still in the aftermath of the departure of long-term manager Gary Rowett, Millwall will return to The Den on Tuesday when they play host to Blackburn Rovers.
Adam Barrett will continue to take temporary charge of the Lions, who sit 14th in the Championship table after 12 rounds of games, while their hosts are level on points in 15th spot after back-to-back wins.
Match preview
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After only missing out on the Championship playoffs by a single on the final day of last season, losing 4-3 to Tuesday's opponents, Millwall headed into the new term still under the management of Gary Rowett with the aim of going one better and cracking the top six this time around, but they did not enjoy a strong start in that bid.
The London outfit amassed seven points from their opening five outings prior to the first international break of the campaign in early September, and they would again struggle for consistency on their return, adding four more points to their tally in the next four outings having beaten Rotherham United 3-0 while taking two thrashings by the same scoreline at the hands of Leeds United and Swansea City.
They were then able to return to winning ways in impressive fashion at the beginning of October, triumphing 2-0 away at Plymouth Argyle thanks to goals from Zian Flemming and George Savilly, before heading into the recent international break on the back of a 2-2 draw at home to Hull City, initially going ahead through Duncan Watmore before Joe Bryan drew them back level in the second half.
Then sitting on 15 points from 11 outings at the second break in play, the club announced the decision to part ways with Rowett after a four-year tenure, and on their return to action at the weekend, the Lions travelled to high-flying Preston North End under caretaker manager Adam Barrett and took a creditable share of the spoils as Zian Flemming forced a 1-1 draw with his 30th-minute equaliser at Deepdale.
Certainly with positives to take from that away performance, Millwall will now return to the Den with the aim of making a return to winning ways under Barrett and improving on their current standing in 14th place with just a one-point gap up to ninth spot.
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In their way stand a Blackburn Rovers side who are also hoping to break into the top half on Tuesday and build on a pair of victories after a disappointing start to the campaign.
After beating Millwall on the final day of last season and only missing out of the playoffs on goal difference, Jon Dahl Tomasson's side also set out to go one better this time around and again stake their claim for promotion, but they were unable to establish any dominance in England's second tier, firstly collecting seven points from their opening five games.
The Lancashire outfit did then return from the international break in September with a victory, only to suffer four consecutive defeats and quickly drop down the table, falling at the hands of Sunderland, Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Coventry City and conceding 12 goals along the way.
Tomasson's men do look to have put that slump behind them now, though, as they firstly bounced back to winning ways in the final game before the recent break in style, thrashing Queens Park Rangers 4-0 as Arnor Sigurdsson netted a brace alongside goals from Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics, before returning to action with another three-point haul at the weekend as they beat Cardiff City 1-0 on home turf courtesy of Joe Rankin-Costello's second-half goal.
Thanks to that pair of triumphs, Blackburn have now climbed back up to 15th spot, level on points with their hosts and just one outside of the top 10, and they will aim to keep building momentum with a third straight victory on Tuesday when they travel to the capital.
Team News
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Adam Barrett may opt to deploy an unchanged Millwall starting XI from their draw with Preston at the weekend, as the Lions continue to deal with three enforced absentees with first-choice goalkeeper Matija Sarkic sidelined alongside key centre-back Shaun Hutchinson and new forward Kevin Nisbet.
There is still competition throughout the pitch, though, with Ryan Longman vying to come into the front three from the start after Aidomo Emakhu was preferred on the left wing last time out, with Tom Bradshaw and Zian Flemming bound to keep their starting places in the other two attacking spots.
Further back, George Saville will push to come in from the outset in the engine room and displace Allan Campbell, with Billy Mitchell also having a claim to start, while we are bound to see an unchanged back three of Wes Harding, Jake Cooper and Murray Wallace in Hutchinson's continued absence.
Blackburn Rovers are also contending with several injuries in important places, with goalkeeper Aynsley Pears confined to the treatment room alongside attackers Harry Leonard, Ryan Hedges and Sam Gallagher, although midfielder Adam Wharton was fit to make the bench at the weekend after an injury concern of his own.
While Tomasson may look to go into Tuesday's game unchanged from their 1-0 win over Cardiff, Wharton will push to come in from the outset in the engine room, as will key man Lewis Travis after Sondre Tronstad anchored the midfield at the weekend, allowing Sammie Szmodics and traditional full-back Joe Rankin-Costello to operate further forward and support the attack.
Alongside that duo, attacking responsibility could again fall on Tyrhys Dolan and summer signing Arnor Sigurdsson in the absence of Hedges and Gallagher, while Leopold Wahlstedt will continue to deputise for Pears between the sticks.
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski; Harding, Cooper, Wallace; Norton-Cuffy, Saville, De Norre, Bryan; Flemming, Bradshaw, Longman
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Wahlstedt; Hill, Carter, Hyam, Pickering; Tronstad; Brittain, Rankin-Costello, Szmodics, Sigurdsson; Dolan
We say: Millwall 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Saturday's 1-0 win was somewhat of a rarity for Blackburn Rovers, who have seen plenty of goals at both ends of the pitch in most of their Championship outings so far this season, and we anticipate another relatively eventful affair on Tuesday with the visitors' back-to-back wins perhaps inspiring a narrow triumph at The Den.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
