Millwall v Leeds: In-form hosts to punish beleaguered visitors

Millwall and Leeds’ fierce rivalry has simmered somewhat in recent seasons, however both sides will still be desperate for victory when they lock horns at the Den this term.

The current form of the hosts rightly make them favourites to win at evens, which also reflects the dire recent spell of Neil Warnock’s visitors.

Millwall are on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Championship, and have won three of their last four games on home soil.

Kenny Jackett’s side snuck into the top 10 after taking all three points against Derby, and a win over old foes Leeds would propel them towards the play-off spots.

Despite being known as sworn enemies, the animosity between the London club and their northern opponents has cooled in recent seasons, as fans have become more engrossed in rivalries with other local sides.

West Ham’s descent into the second tier turned Millwall’s head, whilst the ever-increasing number of Yorkshire teams in the league has kept supporters of the Whites busy.

Both sets of fans would still dearly love a win in this fixture, although considering the mini-crisis at Leeds United at the moment, their odds for victory of 11/4 aren’t exactly enticing.

The away side haven’t won in the league in six games, with their albeit impressive 3-0 triumph over Southampton in the Capital One Cup providing the only bit of respite from a run of three draws and three defeats.

Last time out the White Rose club were hammered 6-1 at home to mid-table Watford, where key summer-signing Rodolph Austin suffered a cracked ankle bone potentially ending his season.

Centre-back Jason Pearce was also sent-off during the heavy loss, and he will sit out the next three games after Leeds’ appeal was denied.

The good news for the Whites is that their recent record against Millwall is fairly good, with three wins taken from their last four clashes.

Only once in 14 fixtures have Leeds and Millwall drawn, with odds for a stalemate this time around available at 23/10.

But with the home team in such strong form and Leeds well and truly on the ropes, the Lions should be backed to punish the weakened visitors in the capital.

A win to nil for Millwall at 3/1 looks worthy of a punt, whilst odds of 5/4 for the hosts to net 2-3 times is great value considering they have averaged 2.6 goals a game in their last five outings.

With top scorer Darius Henderson likely to miss the game through injury, New Zealand international Chris Wood will help fill the void and could add to his tally of five from five by striking first at 5/1.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.