Talking Tactics | Swansea City v Millwall
Swansea City will conclude their SkyBet Championship campaign against Millwall at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday (12.30pm KO).
Ahead of the clash, WhoScored.com preview the final game of the season, looking at what to expect from Millwall, a key battle and a key stat.
What to expect from Millwall
As the 2023-24 season comes to a close, Millwall have secured their spot in next year’s edition of the Championship.
They come into the final game in strong form with four wins on the trot, including a 1-0 home victory over the champions, Leicester. They have conceded just twice in their last five fixtures, keeping three clean sheets in that time.
Millwall’s away form has been a little less positive with just one win in their last five trips, but they were victorious on their most recent away day, securing a 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light against Sunderland.
Neil Harris’ side may have secured their safety but they have struggled in front of goal throughout the season. In fact, only Rotherham (32) and Sheffield Wednesday (42) have scored fewer goals than Millwall (44) this term.
However, defensively Millwall have been strong, conceding just 55 times this season, ranking them sixth for goals against.
Millwall have tended to opt for a 4-4-2 formation most frequently in the league this season, with Jake Cooper the only player to play every minute for the The Lions.
Key Battle
WhoScored.com’s statistically-calculated match forecast suggests the visitors will dominate in the air at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday. Harris’ side top the charts in the league for aerial duels won per game in the Championship with an average of 20.7.
A large part of Millwall’s dominance in the air is down to the towering figure Cooper, who alone contributes 4.7 aerial wins per game on average, the most of any individual in the division.
The English centre-back helped his side keep their winning streak going in their last fixture, with a late goal proving enough to see off the threat of relegation-threatened Plymouth.
Cooper has completed every minute of Championship action for Millwall this season and is set to end the season as the visitors' highest-rated player of the season (25+ apps) with a rating of 6.85.
The 29-year-old has also been part of a Millwall backline which has kept a total of 15 clean sheets this season, the third most of any side.
It will be an interesting match up when Cooper meets Swansea’s biggest available aerial threat in Ben Cabango.
Cabango is currently averaging 2.4 aerial wins per game for the Swans, the second most of any of Luke Williams' squad, and has an aerial success rate of 59%.
The aerial battle between these two in both boxes could prove key.
Key Stat
Both teams come into the season’s curtain closer in good form, yet the visitors have struggled away at Swansea in recent times, failing to win any of their last three visits.
Swansea also won the reverse fixture when these two sides met back in September, getting the better of Millwall 3-0. If they are to get the victory this weekend then it will be the Swans’ first league double over Millwall since the 2020-21 season.