City’s return to The Den has quickly become more than a routine early-season away trip. Robin Sainty said the meeting with Millwall would test their mental strength as much as their ability, after City won there in April and ended Millwall’s automatic promotion hopes.
The timing matters because City arrive on the back of an opening weekend defeat, and the feeling around the game has sharpened. In a Championship that Sainty described as never straightforward or predictable, the first round already delivered proof: Wolves needed an injury-time penalty to scrape a home point against Blackburn, West Ham blew a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes at Burnley, and Lincoln nearly pulled off a shock at Middlesbrough.
That same unpredictability is hanging over this fixture. City lost last week despite having more possession and more chances, doing enough to win comfortably but paying for a lack of sharpness when it mattered. Tim Robinson and his assistants were blamed for collective myopia in that defeat, but the wider problem was simpler: City looked like a side that could get into dangerous positions and still leave empty-handed. Pelle Matsson had a day when his radar was badly awry, while Albion were well organised, very disciplined in and out of possession, and took the only chance they had created.
Millwall arrive with a different mood. Alex Neil and his players are looking for revenge, and they come in off a win at Bristol City after Bristol City were reduced to 10 men before half-time. They have kept continuity in their transfer approach, spent little, picked up several free agents and stayed close to the side that played in April. Most of last week’s starting line-up were in that match too, even if their most expensive summer signing, midfielder Mathis Servais, has yet to figure. That blend has left them expected to challenge again, and it gives this game the feel of an immediate response to what happened in April.
City’s task is clear enough. They need to match Millwall’s physicality before their quality on the ball can matter, and they need a significant improvement in passing from last week if they are to control the game at all. Clement now has serious pace out wide from Anthony Musaba, Mo Toure, Mathias Kvistgaarden and Jovon Makama, with Andre Brooks also adding to the attacking threat and Papa Diallo’s return making the side look better balanced. The question is whether that extra threat can survive a game that is likely to be direct, physical and unforgiving. At The Den, City are not just trying to win another match. They are trying to prove that last week was a mistake they can correct before it becomes a pattern.
