Talking Tactics | Millwall vs Swansea City

Swansea City travel to face Millwall this afternoon (3pm) as they look to build upon their victory over Sheffield Wednesday last time out.

Ahead of the action, WhoScored.com preview the clash, taking a look at what to expect from Millwall, the key battle and a key stat.

What to expect from Millwall

Gary Rowett’s Millwall have had a mixed start to the season in the Championship with three wins, three losses and two draws.

Most recently, Millwall took a point from their trip to the Hawthorns in a 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion after putting three past Rotherham in a 3-0 victory at the Den in the fixture prior.

Today’s hosts narrowly missed out on the play-offs in the 2022-23 campaign finishing in eighth position just the one point outside of the play-off places.

They currently find themselves in a similar position within touching distance of the play-off places with a two point gap.

Rowett has not been afraid to tinker with his side this campaign and Millwall have played multiple formations largely opting for three at the back, with a 3-4-3 formation their most frequently used.

Millwall will probably continue to adopt the three man backline again against Swansea with Shaun Hutchinson, Jake Cooper and Murray Wallace the most likely candidates.

All three feature in Millwall’s top five rated players in the league this season with Shaun Hutchinson their top rated player with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.14.

Key Battle

The WhoScored.com match forecast suggests it is very likely that Swansea will dominate possession, and that shouldn't come as a surprise. The Swans are ranked 10th in the league for possession averaging 54.5% in the Championship this season, while Millwall are down in 19th with an average of  42.8%.

If that is the case then you can expect Ben Cabango to see plenty of the ball at the back. The 23-year-old will not shy away from the ball as he currently averages 54.5 accurate passes per game, the second highest of any Swansea player, which has contributed to his passing being considered ‘Very Strong’ by WhoScored.com’s statistically calculated strengths.

Defensively, Cabango will need to be alert and although Millwall are yet to find their groove in front of goal with only Sheffield Wednesday scoring fewer goals so far in the Championship (5) than Millwall’s seven, he will likely come up against the likes of Tom Bradshaw and Zian Flemming.

Tom Bradshaw is Millwall’s top scorer in the league since the start of last season with 18 goals with Zian Flemming in second with 16 so the Swansea defence will have to be at the top of their game to keep them quiet here.

Key Stat

Millwall were victorious when these sides last met back in March with a 2-1 win with goals from Tom Bradshaw and Andreas Voglsammer for the hosts and a consolation goal from Ryan Manning for the Swans.

However, Swansea have only lost one of their last seven against Millwall in the league.