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Tottenham Hotspur have a golden opportunity to make the final four of the FA Cup on Sunday when they host Millwall at White Hart Lane. But while we’ve talked a little bit about the Lions, their irascible fans, and their supporters’ tendency to break things, we haven’t talked much about the team itself.
Millwall are making a concerted push for promotion to the Championship this season, and are currently in sixth place in League One. They are currently occupying the final playoff spot but are just three points out of third.
This is not a bad team. Leading scorer Lee Gregory has put in 14 goals so far this season, with strike partner Aidan O’Brien not far behind with 10. Their manager, Neil Harris, is a former Millwall player and a club legend, and he has ably led the Lions this season. In fact, Millwall is unbeaten in all competitions since a 3-0 league loss to Scunthorpe on December 17.
Millwall have an impressive collection of victories in this year’s FA Cup, with wins over Bournemouth, Watford, and Leicester City. However, all of the EPL clubs played, to speak generously, rotated sides against the Lions, and all of Millwall’s wins came at the Den. In fact, this is the first time that the Lions have played an FA Cup match away from home, and that if nothing else gives Spurs a distinct advantage.
Still, Spurs won’t want to take Millwall lightly. You don’t defeat three Premier League sides unless you’re in fact pretty good. Spurs learned that lesson the hard way in a home match against nothing-to-lose Wycombe Wanderers earlier this season. With no European matches to look forward to and no league matches for another week, expect Spurs to put out a first choice side and try and put Millwall to the sword early on.
Tactically, Millwall tend to play straight English blood-and-thunder 4-4-2. Against Tottenham, we can probably expect the Lions to keep a deep, compact back four and try and hit Spurs on the counter whenever the opportunity arises.
Long time Spurs fans may recognize one name in particular on the Millwall roster: keeper Jordan Archer was a Spurs academy product before being released by the club in 2015 and later signing with the Lions.
How to Watch
Date: Sunday, March 13, 2017, 3:00 pm 2:00 pm (10:00 am ET)
Location: White Hart Lane, North London, UK
Match Official: Martin Atkinson
TV: BBC 1 (UK), Fox Sports 1 (USA), Sportsnet World (Canada), ESPN2 (Australia), other tv listings at livesoccertv.com
Streaming: Fox Sports Go / Fox Soccer2Go, fubo.tv (free 7-day trial)
Path to the quarterfinals
Tottenham: Aston Villa (H), Wycombe (H), Fulham (A)
Millwall: Southend United (H), Braintree Town (H), Bournemouth (H), Watford (H), Leicester City (H)
Injury news
Erik Lamela and Danny Rose are still confirmed out and will miss the match for Spurs. Starting Millwall keeper (and former Tottenham youth player) Jordan Archer is a doubt for the Lions.