Meet the opposition | Millwall
As Swansea City prepare to host Millwall in SA1, we take a closer look at the Lions.
What's their story?
Millwall are in their eighth-straight season in the Championship having secured their place in the second tier via the play-offs in 2017.
They have been mainstays of the second tier, having spent just two of the last 12 campaigns in League One.
The Lions haven’t been in the top-flight of English football since the 1989-90 season; the closest they have come to a return was when finishing just outside the play-offs in 2018, 2020 and 2023.
They famously reached the 2004 FA Cup final, but were beaten 3-0 at the Millennium Stadium by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
How's their form?
Up and down. The Lions have been inconsistent across the first quarter of the season.
They have won four of their first 11 games, with all of that quartet of victories coming on home soil.
But they have proven hard to beat, with four draws, while all of their defeats being by single-goal margins.
Who’s the gaffer?
All time-record Lions goal scorer Neil Harris returned to the Den, replacing Joe Edwards as head coach, in February 2024 and guided a club he is synonymous with to Championship safety.
Harris started his coaching career in 2013 at the Lions, working his way up through their academy and having several spells as caretaker manager.
He was given the job on a permanent basis in 2015, and twice took Millwall to the play-offs, securing promotion at the second time of asking.
Harris resigned in 2019, joining fellow Championship side Cardiff City one month later. He took the Bluebirds to the play-offs that season, where whey were defeated by Fulham.
Harris was sacked by the Bluebirds in January 2021 and had a year out of management before being appointed by League One side Gillingham the following January.
Harris suffered relegation to League Two with the Gills and was dismissed in October 2023.
His next job came two months later, joining Cambridge United in December 2023, however the chance to return to The Den proved too good to turn down when the role came up in February this year.
Who's the captain?
Shaun Hutchinson is Millwall's club captain. The Newcastle-born defender started his career in Scotland, graduating from Motherwell's academy to make over 140 appearances for the Wells, while also being part of the side that reached the Scottish Cup final in 2011.
He went on to join Fulham on a free transfer, making over 40 appearances for the Cottagers over two years before moving to the Den in 2016.
He has played for the Lions ever since, making over 250 appearances for the club, he was part of the side that secured promotion to the Championship in 2017.
Hutchinson has suffered injury problems, only making 15 appearances last term, with fellow defender Jake Cooper taking the armband for the majority of the season.
He briefly left the club in the summer, but was offered a new contract and returned.
Who are the key men?
Duncan Watmore is the Lions topscorer with five goals to his name so far this term.
The forward has been with Millwall since January 2023, and his fine start to the season has taken him to 12 goals in 64 outings for the south London side.
On the books of Manchester United as a youngster, Watmore went on to have spells with Altrincham, Clitheroe and Curzon Ashton before being picked up by Sunderland.
He spent seven years with the Black Cats, including a brief loan spell in Scotland with Hibernian, before making the switch to their north-east rivals Middlesbrough.
Watmore flourished on Teesside, scoring 21 goals in 92 league appearances.
Experienced defender Joe Bryan joined Millwall on a free transfer during the summer of 2023 and, after an injury-hit first season, has started the new campaign strongly at The Den.
The Bristol City academy product came through the ranks to reach the senior team at Ashton Gate, and made 230 appearances for the Robins, helping them to promotion from League One, EFL Trophy success and a run to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
A £6million move to Premier League Fulham followed in 2018, and he quickly became a regular for the Cottagers.
They suffered relegation, but he helped them return to the top-flight immediately, with his opportunistic free-kick helping them beat west London rivals Brentford in the Championship play-off final.
Bryan spent the 2022-23 campaign on loan at Nice, before switching to south-east London after his contract expired at Fulham.
Lambeth-born winger Romain Esse has been among those to catch the eye for Millwall, and he has three goals and an assist to his name so far during the 2024-25 campaign.
The 19-year-old England youth international is a product of the Lions youth system, and made his senior debut as a substitute against Watford in December 2022.
The following month he signed his first pro deal and he has been involved with the first team since.
Technically-gifted and an exciting dribbler, his speed and trickery make him a handful for defenders.