Preview | Millwall v Swansea City
Swansea City head to The Den to take on Millwall seeking to quickly bounce back from their weekend disappointment against Luton.
Head coach Steve Cooper pulled no punches in his assessment of the 1-0 loss to the Hatters at the Liberty, which dealt a blow to the Swans play-off hopes, and has demanded his squad show the fight required in London.
Fortunately, a hectic schedule means they have not had long to wait for the chance to put things right as they seek to narrow the four-point gap to the top six that opened up over the weekend.
They face a Millwall side just a place and a point behind the Swans, and still harbouring play-off hopes of their own given they have what looks a potentially favourable final run-in.
Swansea claimed a memorable win over the Lions last season, as they overcame an early red card to snatch victory.
If they can claim three points on this visit to south east London, it would be the ideal response to a frustrating weekend.
Team news
Jordon Garrick will be missing for the Swans as he serves the first game of his three-match ban following his sending off against Luton.
The game looks set to come too soon for Mike van der Hoorn, but Joe Rodon is in contention after being among the substitutes at the weekend.
Cooper has suggested he could make changes given his disappointment with the display against Luton.
Pre-match views
Steve Cooper: “It’s going to be a really hectic period.
“This is a game we need a result from, games and points are precious at the moment because of how quickly they will come and go.
“The picture can change very quickly. We saw that after winning at Middlesbrough, it changed again after the weekend, and it is going to change a number of times before the end of the season.
“So, we have to look after ourselves, and we need to be absolutely ready to pick ourselves up after a disappointing day and show some fight.”
Gary Rowett: “We are still in the mix, we are still in the race but the games are running out.
“Teams will struggle to find form coming back, it’s been tough to get back to where we want to be.
“It’s a mini-season and you cannot afford not to get momentum.
“I think we need to win Tuesday, otherwise it is going to be very difficult to get to where we want to be.”
Remember the last time?
The Swans earned a memorable comeback victory on their last visit to Millwall despite playing 85 minutes with 10 men in September 2018.
Courtney Baker-Richardson saw red just five minutes into his Football League debut after he was sent off for a challenge on James Meredith.
It took until the 62nd minute for the Lions to take the lead, with Murray Wallace nodding home Jake Cooper’s knockdown from a corner.
Sub Kyle Naughton looked to have earned the Swans a share of the spoils as he stunned the home crowd with a low shot in the 76th minute.
Incredibly, Oli McBurnie then popped up in the 85th minute to earn the Swans an unlikely victory.
Prime numbers
1 – The home side has won just once in the last seven league meetings between the sides, the Swans bucking the trend with their 1-0 win at the Liberty in March 2019.
5 – Rhian Brewster has scored six goals in 13 appearances for the Swans, five of those have come away from home.