Match preview: Owls v Millwall

6 November 2020

After a week of positives so far for Wednesday, Garry Monk’s men will be aiming to end it on a high with a win against Millwall in S6.

It’s the final game before the international break and the Owls will be looking for back to back league victories on home soil.

Wednesday produced a much-improved performance against promotion hopefuls Bournemouth on Tuesday and inflicted a first defeat of the season on the Cherries.

Barry Bannan’s second half penalty was the difference on the night and it was a deserved three points for the Owls.

Millwall represent a tough challenge this weekend and the Lions have made a strong start to 2020/21, sitting eighth in the table.

Incredibly, the Lions have kept 15 clean sheets in the calendar year 2020 – the highest in the Championship and more than any side in Europe’s top five leagues.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game:

MATCH DETAILS

- Date: Saturday 7 November
- Kick-off, 3.00pm
- Championship
- Hillsborough

OFFICIALS

Referee – Tony Harrington
Assistant Referee 1 – Robert Merchant
Assistant Referee 2 – Matthew Jones
Fourth Official – Akil Howson

WATCH LIVE

Live coverage of the match will be provided by iFollow with match passes available for £10, which includes multi-angle, replays and match commentary from Rob O’Neill and John Pearson.

CLICK HERE to purchase your pass.

2020/21 Season Ticket holders can also apply for a code as part of any credit at the end of the season, full details on the Millwall codes can be found HERE.

POPPIES

This game marks our designated Remembrance Day fixture with Armistice Day on Wednesday 11 November. Both the Owls and Millwall will have poppies adorned on the front of shirts. The game will be preceded by a rendition of the Last Post.

TEAM NEWS

SWFC: Joost van Aken is available for selection after completing his three-match suspension.

Aden Flint (hamstring) has had successful surgery and now begins his rehabilitation. The commanding defender will be a long term absentee.

The Owls have appealed Kadeem Harris’ dismissal and will learn the outcome of that ahead of Saturday’s clash with Millwall.

Massimo Luongo has returned to training and is stepping up his fitness. The Australian international is expected back after the break.

Millwall: Loan striker Kenneth Zohore is expected to be sidelined for at least eight weeks due to a calf injury.

Troy Parrott and Billy Mitchell are working their way back to fitness and should come back into contention this month, though the trip to Hillsborough may come too soon.

Owls boss on Millwall: “I have come up against Gary (Rowett) quite a few times. He's an experienced manager and always sets his teams up and organised.

“Millwall is always a difficult game. They’ve got set piece threats and they’re difficult to beat because of their organisation. It will be an interesting tactical battle.”

Gary Rowett on the Owls: “They got a really good result against Bournemouth and then get six points back. It means they’ve just had a nine-point week and essentially that has to play a huge psychological impact on the group. It doesn’t change anything for us. We have to go there and try and get a result.”

LAST MEETING – 1 February 2020 | Owls 0-0 Millwall

LAST FIVE: OWLS V MILLWALL

Owls 0-0 Millwall – 1 February 2020 - Championship
Millwall 1-0 Owls – 17 August 2019 – Championship
Millwall 0-0 Owls – 12 February 2019 – Championship
Owls 2-1 Millwall – 22 August 2018 – Championship
Millwall 2-1 Owls – 20 February 2018 – Championship

Match Reports

Report: Wednesday 0-0 Millwall

7 November 2020

The Owls and Millwall played out a goalless draw at Hillsborough in a game that could have gone either way, although Wednesday shaded proceedings overall.

Bartos Bialkowski was by far the busiest of the two goalkeepers but equal to everything the hosts could fashion.

Wednesday, though, are off the bottom following a positive few days that culminated with another point on Saturday against one of the meanest defences around.

The Lions rearguard did open up as early as the third minute when Elias Kachunga was given a clear sight of goal from the edge of the area but shot wide of the target.

Wednesday went on to dominate as Millwall struggled to get the ball out of their own half, until a dangerous counter led by Mason Bennett saw Scott Malone glance across goal and wide.

That sortie did seem to give the visitors confidence as moments later Ryan Leonard planted a low shot past Joe Wildsmith but also the far upright.

The Owls hit back and ramped up the pressure with half time approaching – Josh Windass forced Bialkowski into a smart save on the angle.

Jed Wallace brushed the side netting immediately after the restart before Windass bolted upfield and again brought out the best in Bialkowski.

Shaun Hutchinson headed wide from a corner as the ding dong start to the second half continued. Straight away Wednesday responded with Adam Reach hitting hard and low but Bialkowski was down to expertly smother.

The pendulum stayed with the hosts – Bialkowski denied Reach for a second time – but the Millwall backline proved a tough nut to crack.

No side in Europe has posted more clean sheets over the past year than the Lions and it was that solid platform steering Gary Rowett’s men to a point.

It might have been all three if Matt Smith, normally lethal in the air, hadn’t mistimed a clear header with 12 minutes to go.

Wednesday dominated the closing stages and few would have argued with a late winner – substitute Jack Marriott did go close - but the Owls had to be content with a draw, albeit boosted by that climb from the foot of the Championship.

Wednesday: Wildsmith, Palmer, van Aken (Marriott 80), Iorfa, Börner, Odubajo, Bannan, Pelupessy (Brown 58), Reach, Kachunga (Paterson 68), Windass