- 1 Middlesbrough vs Millwall: fourth against 12th, and the gap is widening
- 2 Middlesbrough: an attack that keeps firing and a summer window that’s paying off
- 3 Millwall: nine out and no rhythm to speak of
- 4 Football Prediction Middlesbrough vs Millwall
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information moves fast
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Middlesbrough vs Millwall: fourth against 12th, and the gap is widening 
One defeat in six for Middlesbrough, one win in their last four for Millwall. That contrast in form is the first thing to note ahead of this sixth round of the Championship.
Kick-off is set for Tuesday, September 15 at 8:45 p.m. CEST, at the Riverside Stadium. Middlesbrough are fourth, Millwall 12th.
The two clubs were tipped to be in the same pack this summer, too. Middlesbrough came in off a 1-0 playoff final loss to Hull City at Wembley, while Millwall had finished just one point shy of the automatic promotion spots.
Four months on, only one of them is living up to the billing. Kim Hellberg has put together a side that wins at home, with three straight victories at the Riverside.
Millwall, meanwhile, have been all over the place since the restart. A 4-0 win over Bolton Wanderers sits alongside a 5-1 hammering at Southampton and a 3-0 home loss to Wrexham.
The injury list only stretches the gap further. Nine Millwall players are currently sidelined, leaving Alex Neil with precious few options.
Last weekend backed up both trends. Middlesbrough edged Norwich City 4-3 in stoppage time, while Millwall went down 3-1 at Blackburn Rovers.
The schedule adds another wrinkle. Both sides are back in action three days after one game that produced seven goals for one and four for the other.
The question is whether Boro can do it all again just three days after such a draining match.
Middlesbrough: an attack that keeps firing and a summer window that’s paying off 
Saturday’s 4-3 win over Norwich City summed up Middlesbrough’s season in one game. They were behind after 50 seconds, with Mohamed Toure striking early, but turned it around and then held off a late surge.
Sebastian Berhalter was the man of the match with a brace, including the equaliser. The American, signed from Vancouver Whitecaps in the 2026 summer window, was scoring his first goals in his new colours.
Amario Cozier-Duberry then put Boro 3-1 up before Jovon Makama and Jacob Wright hauled Norwich level again. Ashley Phillips, signed from Tottenham, settled it late with his first league goal.
The attack is not carrying the load off that one game alone. Will Lankshear has five goals in six Championship matches and is the benchmark up front.
The 2026 summer business goes a long way to explaining the surge. Lankshear, Radek Vitek, Berhalter and Cozier-Duberry all arrived to help erase the pain of that playoff failure.
Their consistency shows away from the Riverside, too. Boro beat Queens Park Rangers 1-0, drew 1-1 at Burnley and had already beaten West Bromwich Albion 3-1 at home.
The home run matters as well. That was a third straight win at the Riverside, where the club have dropped nothing this season.
There is just one concern at the back. Alfie Jones picked up a knock on Saturday, which could open the door for Phillips to start, with Aidan Morris expected alongside Berhalter in midfield.
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Millwall: nine out and no rhythm to speak of 
The start had plenty going for it. Millwall won their first two, 2-0 at Bristol City and then 3-0 against Norwich City at The Den.
Last season had left them within touching distance of the top prize. Millwall finished just one point outside the automatic promotion places to the Premier League.
The 5-1 battering at Southampton knocked them off course. After that heavy defeat last month, they have never really found that early rhythm again.
A 3-0 home loss to Wrexham only deepened the slump. The 4-0 thumping of Bolton Wanderers soon after briefly suggested they were turning a corner.
That swing says everything about the problem right now. Millwall can stick four past a direct rival one week, then ship five the next.
There is not much room for that sort of chaos in the Championship. Sitting 12th after six rounds, they have already thrown away nine points in their last four league matches.
Saturday made it worse. Alex Neil called the 3-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers a wasted chance, and he was right.
The injury list tells its own story. Casper De Norre, Josh Coburn, Lukas Jensen, Tristan Crama, Alfie Doughty, Mathis Servais, Luke Cundle, Massimo Luongo and Mihailo Ivanovic are all out.
The combined absence of Coburn and Ivanovic hurts most. Neil has no real senior option to call on up front for this trip.
Their cup run was hardly a confidence builder either. A 1-0 win at Cambridge United and a 1-0 home exit to Newcastle United marked their EFL Cup campaign.
So the attack looks thin. Lyndon Dykes should lead the line, with Romain Esse and Camiel Neghli out wide.
Probable Middlesbrough XI: Vitek ; Brittain, Phillips, Malanda, Borges ; Berhalter, Morris ; Cozier-Duberry, McGree, Conway ; Lankshear
Probable Millwall XI: Crocombe ; Osei-Tutu, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge ; Mazou-Sacko, Metcalfe ; Esse, Arconte, Neghli ; Dykes
Football Prediction Middlesbrough vs Millwall
Our prediction: Middlesbrough to win
The Riverside has been a fortress since the season got going, with three wins from three league games at home. Millwall arrive with nine men in the treatment room and just one win from their last four league outings.
The difference shows in the players available as well. Lankshear already has five goals in six matches, Berhalter has just opened his account with a brace, and Millwall are missing Coburn and Ivanovic up top.
Millwall have conceded 11 goals across their three defeats this season, at Southampton, against Wrexham and at Blackburn. Middlesbrough should take this one.
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