Leeds United will look to maintain their place at the top of the Championship when they welcome Millwall to Elland Road for the second time in 2025.
Daniel Farke's side were knocked out of the FA Cup by the Lions last month, and enter this fixture on the back of another surprising result at the weekend that has shaken up the promotion picture.
Match preview
© Imago
In a fixture with more than a bit of bad blood attached to it, visitors Millwall would love nothing more than to put another dent in Leeds' promotion bid this midweek.
That is after the Whites were beaten 1-0 at Fratton Park against Portsmouth on Sunday, with Colby Bishop's solitary strike bringing an end to their 17-game unbeaten league run.
Farke's men remain top, but only goal difference separates them and Sheffield United, while Burnley are just two points further back, and both play 24 hours earlier this week.
Leeds' next four fixtures are all against sides outside the top 10, so they must ensure there are no similar slip-ups to the one they suffered over the weekend, and thankfully, form at home should give them plenty to be confident about.
The hosts are unbeaten in 15 home Championship matches - winning 13 - scoring a whopping 40 goals across those games.
Opponents from the capital have also provided them with many points of late, winning four of the last six against clubs from London, after only coming out on top in four of the previous 26 prior to this run.
Millwall in particular have been unable to handle Leeds in recent years, with three straight league wins at Elland Road over the Lions, and eight in the last nine, but the tables have turned this season.
© Imago
Not only did Millwall knock Leeds out of the FA Cup thanks to a 2-0 win in round four last month, they also beat Farke's side in the reverse fixture back in November, providing them with the opportunity to do the league double over their upcoming opponents for just the fourth time in their history.
Alex Neil's side kept their faint playoff hopes alive with an impressive 2-1 victory at Watford at the weekend, coming from behind with Josh Coburn netting the late winner.
It was a much-needed result after a difficult few days which saw the club's supporters derided in the press for their behaviour during the FA Cup defeat against Crystal Palace, before Bristol City won 2-0 at the Den a few days later.
Before those back-to-back defeats, Millwall had lost just one of their previous nine games, so it was imperative they rediscovered their form at the weekend, and they enter the midweek matches seven points adrift of the playoff places with 10 games to play.
Millwall have only had one stint in the top flight in their history (between 1988 and 1990), but they are still in contention to snatch a playoff spot, even if it will be a tall order with so many teams still above them, and a negative goal difference doing little to help matters.
Team News
© Imago
Leeds are set to be without Welsh international Ethan Ampadu once again after being without him for the last three matches due to a knee injury.
Maximilian Wober is out with a similar issue, and Patrick Bamford is also on the treatment table at present with the hamstring injury he sustained at the start of 2025.
The Leeds XI will look very different from the one that lined up against Millwall in the FA Cup last month, as Pascal Struijk was the only player who started against Pompey at the weekend who also featured from the outset in the cup defeat.
Millwall will remain without goalkeeper Liam Roberts, who will serve the third game of his six-match ban here following the erratic kick on Jean-Philippe Mateta during their loss at Palace recently.
Zak Lovelace has not been available for Millwall since returning from Rangers in January, and he joins Duncan Watmore, who has missed the last month, on the sidelines.
The visitors are also going to be without Ryan Leonard, Calum Scanlon, Camiel Neghli and Macaulay Langstaff until the end of this month at the earliest, with the first match after the international break being pencilled in as a potential return date for many.
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Firpo; Tanaka, Gruev; James, Aaronson, Solomon; Piroe
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Crama, Tanganga, Cooper, Bryan; De Norre, Mitchell; Honeyman, Cundle, Azeez; Coburn
We say: Leeds United 3-1 Millwall
After a surprise defeat at the weekend, Leeds will be keen to make amends, especially if one or both of their automatic promotion rivals win a day earlier.
Millwall may have won in the cup here last month, but Leeds will field a stronger XI and there should be less complacency from the hosts, making this a distinctly tougher challenge for Neil's side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
