FA Cup preview: Millwall vs Crystal Palace - Lions capable of derby delight and cup upset

Seb Sternik
8 January 2022

Millwall's Shaun Hutchinson (centre) and Zak Lovelace (left) shake hands after victory in the Sky Bet Championship match at the Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry. Picture date: Wednes

Millwall return to The Den for the first time in over a month as they look to cause an FA Cup upset against city rivals Crystal Palace.

Despite winning just two of their last eight games, Gary Rowett's side will fancy their chances against an under-strength Crystal Palace outfit.

Patrick Vieira's options have been limited by the Africa Cup of Nations as Cheikhou Kouyate, Jordan Ayew and Wilfried Zaha are all away on international duty. If that wasn't enough, there are also doubts over Conor Gallagher and James McArthur.

Millwall, on the other hand, will be without Ryan Leonard, Connor Mahoney and Dan Bellard as the trio miss out through injuries.

When, where and how to watch

When: Saturday, December 8, 12:45 GMT

Where: The Den, London

How to watch: ITV & ITV Hub

Follow this game via our score centre

Last Meeting

Millwall 0-0 Crystal Palace (Championship - April 30, 2013)

At the end of the 2012/13 Championship season, there was a total of 16 points and 15 places separating Millwall and Crystal Palace.

While the Lions barely clung on to their second-tier status, the Eagles secured a fifth-placed finish and went on to win the play-offs at Wembley stadium.

Despite this, there wasn't much separating both sides when they met at The Den that season. In a rather drab contest, both teams produced three goal attempts, one effort on target and five corners each.

Unfortunately for the supporters, both teams also shared the same number of goals - zilch!

Millwall's home form gives hope

Millwall's recent form leaves a lot to be desired, but that may be down to the fact that they haven't played at home since early December.

When you look at their last five encounters at The Den, Rowett's men are unbeaten having picked up three victories and two draws.

Another stat which has to be taken into consideration is the away form of Crystal Palace. Unfortunately for Eagles fans, it doesn't make good reading.

Vieira's men have suffered three straight defeats, all three to nil. Palace fell to consecutive 1-0 defeats against Leeds and Manchester United before being thrashed 3-0 by Tottenham.

Winning away at Millwall is no mean feat and considering Palace are down on numbers, an early cup exit wouldn't exactly come as a shock.

Last 10 meetings

Millwall wins: 3

Draws: 6

Crystal Palace wins: 1

Millwall goals: 10

Crystal Palace goals: 6

Keep your eye on Millwall's goal machine

If the Championship side are to pull off a victory, they will need their star forward to maintain his current goalscoring run.

Tom Bradshaw has scored in five consecutive outings, and the 29-year-old will be relishing the upcoming test against Premier League opposition.

Speaking of Palace, one man who appears to be finding form is Odsonne Edouard.

In his last four games, the Frenchman has scored two goals and produced three assists.

The 23-year-old will be looking to maintain that run and avoid a return to his eight-game goal drought which saw him lose precious game time throughout November and early December.