Millwall

Alex Neil is "optimistic but with an air of trepidation" about Millwall's chances against his former club Norwich on Saturday.

Neil's side made an excellent start to their Championship campaign, winning 2-0 at Bristol City, and will want more of the same in their first home match of the season.

"We've had a good result with a good performance and we obviously want to try to put another one in at home," Lions boss Neil told BBC Radio London.

"I'm going into Saturday's game optimistic but with an air of trepidation as usual, because Norwich are a very good side and we're going to have to be at it."

Millwall will be without Femi Azeez, who went off during the first half of the Bristol City game with what appears to be only a minor injury.

Neil explained: "He's got a slight strain, which is not significant, but it's going to be a little bit too soon for Fem."

These two sides ended last season strongly with Millwall reaching the play-offs before losing to Hull City in the semi-finals, while Norwich climbed from the relegation zone in November to finish in ninth place.

Both are tipped to challenge for at least a top-six place this season.

• Millwall have won three of their past five league games against Norwich City (L2), as many victories as across their prior 22 attempts combined between 2002 and 2023.

• After winning this exact fixture 2-1 last season, Norwich City will be hoping to win successive away league games against Millwall for the first time since 1989.

• After beating Bristol City 2-0, Millwall will be hoping to win their opening two league games of a campaign for the first time since 2014-15.

• Norwich won their opening away league game of last season 2-1 at Portsmouth, though they have not won successive such matches since 2015-16/2016-17.

• Norwich City's Mohamed Toure has scored seven goals and assisted a further two goals in just four Championship away appearances – that includes two hat-tricks. The quickest player to 10 away goals in the competition's history is Matej Vydra who needed 10 appearances.

Phil Parry
BBC Radio London reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It was a gut-wrenching experience for Millwall to get so close to promotion last season.

Head coach Alex Neil was distraught. Everyone was really gutted. You wonder: how is the hangover going to be cured?

Well, with a little bit of freshening up and the experience Alex has got, I think he has just dealt with it and they've got back on the horse.

When you consider that Millwall have got some injuries as well, to get a win on Saturday against Bristol City, a team who have got ambition themselves, was a really good performance.

Neil knows the expectation this year is to get back into the play-offs. It goes to eight teams this season; I think they should be fine.

Transfer business isn't necessarily done yet. They won't sell Femi Azeez, who has been linked with Brighton & Hove Albion and Hull City, unless the bid meets what is quite a decent valuation; but if they do, they might bring some players in as a consequence of that.

On Saturday, they play Norwich, who have been tipped to do very well this season. They finished like a train last season under Philippe Clement.

It's the first game at The Den, an early kick-off, and everyone's going to be up for it. It's going to be a much-anticipated game against another challenger.

If Millwall come out of this with six points from these first two games, I think, genuinely, excitement will start to build.

QPR, Millwall and Norwich are set to miss out to Nottingham Forest in the race for 19-year-old Spanish-born AFC Wimbledon winger Junior Nkeng, who could move for a fee close to £1m. (Graeme Bailey, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

Midfielder Casper De Norre says trying to replicate last season's impressive away form will be vital for Millwall to challenge for the Championship play-off spots again.

The Lions boasted the best away record in the division in the 2025-26 campaign with 41 points from 23 games on the road, while only champions Coventry City picked up as many wins (11).

Alex Neil's side started the new season with an impressive 2-0 victory away at Bristol City on Saturday to pick up where they left off.

"It's very important if you want to achieve what we're trying to achieve to go and get into those play-offs again," De Norre told BBC Radio London.

"You have to be very good both at home and away, so it's very good that we can start with an away win.

"We're off to a perfect start. It's always a difficult game away at Bristol. I think the game just played out perfectly for us."

When asked what Millwall's realistic expectations were this season, with two extra play-off spots up for grabs, the 29-year-old added: "Try to be a bit better than we were last year.

"Go into the play-offs and try and finish it in the play-offs rather than going out."

Millwall have reached the second-tier play-offs on four previous occasions but have lost in the semi-final each time.

They have not played top flight football since 1990 and will hope to finally end that run this season after missing out on automatic promotion by just one point to second-placed Ipswich Town in May.

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Former Iceland striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson has announced his retirement at the age of 34.

Bodvarsson scored four goals in 64 international appearances for Iceland and started the Euro 2016 match in which his country upset England 2-1 to advance to the quarter-finals, a result that led to Roy Hodgson's resignation.

The striker spent almost ten years in England, first at Wolves, and then Reading and Millwall, before a successful spell at Bolton between 2022 and 2024 where he scored 25 goals in 94 appearances.

He also played for Wrexham and Burton Albion before heading home to Iceland to return to his first club Selfoss.

Bodvarsson said in a statement on social media: "I want to thank all my managers, coaches, players and staff members that I've been grateful enough to have met and worked with. It was great sharing the highs and lows of football with you."

Image source, PA Media

Millwall head coach Alex Neil says he was impressed by his side's "solid" performance as they beat 10-man Bristol City 2-0.

The London side did not have a shot on target against them as they impressively won their opening day fixture at Ashton Gate.

"It was a real good, solid performance. We scored two goals, we should score another one when we hit the post from about three yards and had one chalked off," he told BBC Radio London.

"The balance of our play was very good, I didn't think we gave Bristol much in the game.

"The sending off obviously changes things, but that's been a test for the likes of Millwall in the past - have we got enough quality to go and break somebody down?

"We showed more than enough quality today, we carried a threat right through the game."

Image source, Opta

Bristol City and Millwall begin their Championship campaign with a meeting at Ashton Gate on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Michael Skubala era at the Robins began with an ignominious home defeat to Walsall in the EFL Cup first round last weekend while the Lions edged QPR on penalties to reach round two.

City's 4-1 win over Sheffield United last season was their first on opening day since 2020 while Millwall's 2-1 success at Norwich was their third victory in the first league game in four years.

• Bristol City have lost five of their past seven home league games against Millwall (W2), as many as in their previous 39 matches (W17 D17).

• Millwall did the league double over Bristol City last season; only twice before have they won three successive meetings with the Robins in the Football League (4 in January 1932, 3 in September 2021).

• Under Roy Hodgson, Bristol City finished last season losing two of their final seven games (W3 D2), winning as many games as in their previous 14 (D3 L8).

• Millwall earned more points away from home than any other side in the EFL Championship last season (41 – W11 D8 L4), with the Lions unbeaten in their past nine league trips since a 2-1 defeat at Coventry in January (W6 D3).

• Only Coventry City (29) and Southampton (28) scored more goals from set pieces (excluding penalties) than Millwall in the EFL Championship last season (26), with their eight from throw-ins more than anyone else.

Millwall manager Alex Neil is targeting another tilt at the Championship play-offs - but admits it will depend on the outcome of the transfer window.

Neil's side finished third last season, losing to Hull City in the play-off semi-final, and have since signed eight players, although only three have previous Championship experience.

"I think to ask them to come in and surpass 83 points and third in the table is a big, big ask. I think we need to be a little bit more realistic with that," Neil told BBC Radio London.

"However, we've got a core of players who were fundamental last year in getting us there so I think, certainly at the start, they'll do a lot of the heavy lifting and we're hoping the new lads that we've brought in can develop into top players.

"Everybody, at the moment, will be aiming to get into those play-offs and then if you can go one further, then great. But if we can get into the play-offs, that'd be a good aim for us.

"It depends what happens between now and the end of the window."

Preston, Millwall and Stoke are interested in a move for Hull City right-back Cody Drameh, 24, who has a year left on his contract at the MKM Stadium. (Sky Sports, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Thursday's gossip column here.

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Former Bristol City and Fulham defender Joe Bryan has announced his retirement from football.

The 32-year-old left-back made 464 career appearances for six clubs, including 44 in the Premier League for Fulham, and scored two of his 32 goals in the 2020 Championship play-off final.

He was released by Millwall in the summer and has opted to hang up his boots.

"Whilst not the perfect ending everyone hopes for, I am at peace with the decision to retire and move into a new phase of my life," Bryan wrote on social media, external.

Bryan emerged from the academy at his hometown club Bristol City, spent loan spells at Bath City and Plymouth Argyle, and went on to play 230 times for the Robins in both the Championship and League One.

He helped City reach the semi-finals of the League Cup in 2017-18, scoring against Crystal Palace and Manchester United.

In August 2018, Bryan was close to joining fellow Championship side Aston Villa but instead chose to join Fulham in the Premier League.

He stayed with them for five years, through two relegations from the top flight, and played 119 times.

After a loan spell in France with Nice, Bryan joined Millwall in 2023 and played 81 times for them in the Championship.

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Millwall defender Danny Batth has admitted the chance to reunite with Alex Neil was a huge factor in his choice to join the club this summer.

Batth, 35, signed after leaving Derby and worked with Neil at Stoke.

He says Neil's impact on the dressing room is something he hopes can spur the club on.

"We had a great time together," Batth told BBC Radio London.

"I understand what he expects on a daily basis, the togetherness he brings to a dressing room. It was a really important factor."

Batth won promotion to the Premier League during his time at Wolves, and hopes to help Millwall go one better after they finished in the play-offs last year.

"I hope to have an impact in that area. The club has been building over a number of years, the manager has added to that with his experience and tactical awareness.

"You can see in training the ability and togetherness. When you've got both of those, you've got every chance of being at the right end of the table. It is a new season, it'll be competitive."