West Ham United

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London derbies generally run by their own rules. The expectations, the crowd, the sense of proximity – they all add to an air of unpredictability.

However, Millwall against West Ham operates on a different level. This match walks a tightrope whenever and wherever it is played. Unlike so many matches involving sides in the capital, this one happens infrequently – the last meeting was 14 years ago.

The rivalry, however, is long and tortuous. Even when they are not in the same division these two eyeball each other across the River Thames. Many will recall the ugly clashes both inside and outside Upton Park during a League Cup game in 2009. Those incidents have left a scar on football in the city.

The fixture itself is tantalising. West Ham have come into form in the Championship and are scoring goals for fun. They will be favourites.

Millwall have shown glimpses of the form behind last season's promotion push but are beset by an extraordinarily long injury list.

The crowd at The Den will know the odds are stacked against them so they will be even more motivated than ever to generate the sort of atmosphere that could redress the balance.

Whichever team copes best in that environment will succeed. If Millwall can rise to the occasion then don't count them out. If West Ham can blot out the noise, their promotion credentials will be burnished.

There will be plenty watching this game to see if all those questions get overwhelmed by a different sort of story.

That 90-minute tightrope walk will test everyone involved.

West Ham United can move three points clear at the top of the Championship for at least a few hours when they visit Millwall on Saturday (12:30 BST).

The Hammers are on a four-game winning streak while their London rivals had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough on Tuesday having led 2-0.

• This will be the first league meeting between Millwall and West Ham United since February 2012, when the Hammers won 2-1 in the Championship.

• Millwall are unbeaten in five home league games against West Ham (W3 D2) since a 1-0 defeat in December 1988.

• Millwall have won only one of their past five league games (D1 L3), conceding 13 goals in that time, as many as in their previous 18 games in the Championship (excl. play-offs).

• West Ham are looking to win five consecutive league games for the first time since doing so in February 2006 in the Premier League under Alan Pardew.

• Last time out, Jarrod Bowen scored and assisted in the same league game for the 10th time since the start of 2023-24, in England's top four tiers only Mohamed Salah (15), Finn Azaz (13) and Davis Keillor-Dunn (11) have done so more often in that time.

West Ham United meet Millwall on Saturday for the first time in 14 years.

The two rivals last played each other in February 2012, when the Hammers won 2-1 despite an early red card for Kevin Nolan.

Carlton Cole opened the scoring in first-half injury time, with Liam Trotter equalising for the Lions, before Winston Reid got the winner.

Saturday's match will be only the seventh league game between the sides this century.

Nick Godwin, Phil Parry and Andy Rowley from BBC Radio London have been looking ahead to the game from a Hammers perspective.

Listen to the preview by clicking the play button above, or on BBC Sounds here.

Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by former Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town defender Luke Chambers to chat all things EFL in the latest episode of the 72+.

What next for Preston after they sacked Paul Heckingbottom? How far can Lincoln go after a strong start to the season?

Saturday sees Millwall face West Ham for the first time since 2012 and Lions defender Caleb Taylor joins the pod to talk their London derby.

Shrewsbury look set to be the latest EFL club with American owners as BBC Radio Shropshire's Nick Southall explains how Brad Friedel is involved.

Listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

West Ham United full-back Kyle Walker-Peters says he and his fellow defenders have discussed a target of clean sheets required to get promoted.

The Hammers have achieved two shutouts in their first seven Championship games, so are on course to achieve 13 at that ratio.

Coventry City and Ipswich Town, who were promoted automatically last season, kept 17 clean sheets.

"It's something we've spoken about as a defensive unit," Walker-Peters told BBC Radio London.

"We've spoken about the importance of clean sheets and how many clean sheets tend to get [you] promoted. We have our targets.

"We respect the league – it's a division lower than where we want to be, but there's still some good teams and some good players.

"We're not taking it lightly, but we hope to be going back up by the end of the season."

Former West Ham United goalkeepers Rob Green and Jimmy Walker have been sharing their memories of Ludek Miklosko.

Hammers legend Miklosko, who made almost 400 appearances for the club between 1990 and 1998 and later returned as a goalkeeper coach, died on Monday, aged 64.

Listen to Rob and Jimmy's tributes above or on BBC Sounds here.

Holly Turbutt
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham's 6-0 win against Wrexham felt like a real turning point. But what has sparked this huge change?

It is easy to criticise a head coach when results go against you, but credit where it is due: Nuno has done a fantastic job of managing the last four games.

His approach is the first thing we need to discuss. A lot of the backlash from fans has surrounded the way we often sat back after taking the lead, which led to us dropping points.

Recently, however, we have continued to push for goals and used attack as our best form of defence.

The Wrexham game was the perfect example of this, with the team continuing to play attacking football up until the final whistle.

Nuno has also shown very effective squad rotation lately.

Not only has he managed to keep players fresh with substitutions, but he has kept a League Cup run alive, and for the first time in a very long time, these changes have not cost us.

Going into this season, we knew we would need to rotate players, so this seems to have come at the perfect time.

The biggest concern has been our need to score a minimum of three goals most games to have a chance of winning.

While this is not ideal, we have somehow managed to score 16 goals in four games and the way we have started to click in attack has overcome the lack of creativity in midfield for now.

I am not saying this is the right long-term approach, but it is definitely entertaining!

And finally, the Wrexham game saw us keep a clean sheet against a side that we expected to put us to the test. If we can combine more clean sheets with our current attack, things could be about to get a lot more fun.

Over the last year, we have spoken about how much our failure to do the basics has cost us. But right now, it seems as though things are starting to click.

We have managed to pick up wins even when we have not played at our best and this has taken pressure off the players, who now seem more able to play with confidence.

In my opinion, if we can play this well with a team that has a lot of improving to do, we could be in for a very exciting season.

As we sit at the top of the Championship table, our recent success feels surreal, but we have to enjoy these good times, as we all know that they don't happen too often.

For now, the pressure has been lifted from Nuno's shoulders as we go into a tough run of fixtures, including Millwall away.

Can the Hammers keep up this level of performance? I hope so, and fingers crossed that the Wrexham game was just the beginning.

West Ham United boss Nuno Espirito Santo spoke to BBC Radio London after the win against Wrexham. For a written selection of his quotes, click here

BBC Radio London's Phil Parry believes West Ham United need to "embrace the chaos" of the Championship as they begin to find their footing in the second tier.

The Hammers failed to win any of their opening three league games but have now won three in a row as they prepare to host Wrexham on Friday (20:00 BST).

"We have to remember West Ham have spent 14 years in the top flight and that the Premier League has developed during that time, so this has probably been a culture shock," Parry said.

"The fans are already starting to love it, they are scoring goals and going and attacking.

"It's that adjustment and it's taken a couple of weeks to just realise where you're at, not just from a conceptual point of view of being in the second tier, but also from a tactical point of view. Embrace the chaos rather than try and control it."

Visitors Wrexham also failed to win their opening three games, but unlike their hosts have only registered one win so far.

"It'll be an interesting test for West Ham United but I would imagine the fans feel better about themselves and that will be of benefit when it comes to taking on a team who themselves, because of the attention, are possibly under pressure," Parry added.

Listen to the full analysis above or on BBC Sounds here.