Rumble at the Riverside: Can Millwall stun Boro and blow promotion race wide open?

How much more decisive can you get?

Just seven games to go of the Championship season and Millwall are currently sat in fourth spot, two points behind Middlesbrough in second.

They head to the Riverside for a lunchtime kick-off.

Defeat or a draw, it will surely be play-offs – not to be sniffed at considering it would be their highest league placing for the Lions in 32 years.

But victory? Three points takes them into second spot. To some extent, their destiny in their own hands with just six games to spare.

Ipswich, not in action until Monday, will watch on from third spot – knowing that by the time they play again they will have two games in hand.

For Millwall and their unlikely promotion push, Good Friday is pretty much do or die.

Some managers may use the underdog tag as motivation for their players. Alex Neil, however, has no interest in seeing his side as plucky upstarts.

“I don’t like the narrative around us being little old Millwall punching above their weight and all that c***,” Neil said ahead of their last clash with Ipswich – where they battled back for an invaluable point.

“For me, I’ve never used ‘little old Millwall’. I’d never say that to my players because it demeans what we are and what we’re trying to do. As far as I’m concerned, we’re as competitive as anybody. We work within the resources that we’ve got.

“I just don’t like the narrative of playing yourself down as an underdog. ‘If we do it, it’s going to be a miracle and we’re really lucky to be here’ and all that c***. That doesn’t wash with me.

“If you want to be there and you want to be competitive and you want to win, you’ve got to believe that you should be there and I believe we should be.”

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It is an opinion that is valid this season. The top two spots are currently occupied by sides in Coventry and Middlesbrough that have a combined 44 years away from the Premier League between them.

Ipswich have the luxury of parachute riches and depth in their squad, but it is still easy to forget the fact they were in League One just three years ago.

Considering the play-off changes coming into action next season, and the clubs coming down from the Premier League it could be a very different playing field at the top of the tree.

It is not quite now or never for Millwall, but it is one heck of a golden opportunity.

‘A Millwall win at the Riverside would blow things wide open’

“If they were to win at Middlesbrough, you have to take them seriously,” Andy Hinchcliffe told the Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast.

“But they do need to win at this stage to keep their top-two hopes alive. I’m not convinced they can, but they performed well at Ipswich and got a point. If they do win at the Riverside, it blows things wide open.

“I thought they might fall away and be a play-off team at best. But they’re making a real fight of it. Their consistency has been unbelievable and the January signings have helped.”

And they are facing a Middlesbrough side who have stuttered of late, particularly at home.

Boro occupy second spot, but are winless in three. They have also failed to win their last four games at the Riverside, scoring just two goals in that time – despite taking 94 shots.

Tommy Smith, the former Boro defender who now works on Kim Hellberg’s staff as their loan manager, believes perspective is needed as nerves jangle on Teesside.

“The last few results haven’t been what the club would have wanted, but it’s so important at this stage of the season to have a bit of perspective,” he told the Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast.

“Strip it back, Middlesbrough are second in the league after 39 games. At the start of the season, everyone at the club would have taken that.

“Now is not the time to panic. The break has come at a good time to step back, take stock, look at the positives over the season and the negatives from the last few games, and reset.

“You’ve got to be optimistic. If you’re going for the top prize, you’ve got to go through these moments. Full steam ahead now, seven games, and what a run it’s going to be.”

Can Coburn thrive on return to Teesside?

One man at the centre of things will be striker Josh Coburn, the 23-year-old joined Millwall from Middlesbrough last season initially on loan, before completing a club-record permanent move in the summer.

It will be his first return to the Riverside since leaving the club.

“We’re looking forward to it and we know it’s a big game, but it’s also just another game and we need to concentrate on ourselves,” Coburn told Sky Sports. “We know if we can get things right on the pitch, we know we can go there for the win.

“It’s great for the fans for where we are in the league. They can dream but we’ve still got jobs to do. There’s a lot of games left. We’re really looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we can give them something to cheer about.”

Coburn missed three months between October and January, but has scored four times in the Championship since returning, including three in his last four.

It’s been a bit of a frustrating season with the injury I had,” he added. “But now I’m back and I’m feeling really good.

“I’m just trying to take each game as it comes and trying to keep scoring for the team and keep helping the team as much as possible. Hopefully, I can do that.”

‘What this current incarnation of Millwall represents is phenomenal’

David Prutton on the Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast:

“Let’s not downplay Millwall at all. In the first half against Ipswich they were asked a lot of questions, and in the second half they answered most of them.

“They were very, very good. It was a good goal they scored, and there is a lot to like about them. Alex Neil has built a team with a solid, defensive foundation, but they can attack as well.

“Up against Middlesbrough at the Riverside, they can go about things in that typical Millwall way and cause problems.

“Take away any preconceptions about what you think of them as a club, what this current incarnation of Millwall represents is phenomenal.

“They are a very likeable group of players, led by an imaginative manager, and there is a lot to admire about them. Kim Hellberg and his Boro side have a serious challenge on their hands.”

Middlesbrough still promotion favourites… just

Middlesbrough do have the edge in the promotion race still, according to Opta.

Even though Ipswich have a game in hand, they rate Boro’s chances of promotion at 45 per cent, with Ipswich’s down at 38.9 per cent.

Millwall, are at 14.4 per cent, but a win at the Riverside and you should expect that number to swing heavily towards the Lions.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com