'You're on mute!' - or perhaps secretly watching Millwall v Middlesbrough?

Middlesbrough assistant boss Robbie Keane celebrates his 40th birthday when his side visit Millwall

For many football traditionalists, you can’t beat a good old 15:00 kick-off. But what about if it's on a weekday?

When England met Slovenia at 15:00 BST on a Wednesday at the 2010 World Cup, millions of fans were pleading with their bosses to skip work to watch Jermain Defoe’s shin help the Three Lions scrape into the knockout stages.

But how many supporters will be given time off to watch Millwall against Middlesbrough this summer?

The Lions are hosting Boro in the Championship at 15:00 on Wednesday, 8 July, after the latest fixture-schedule changes were announced on Tuesday.

The game has been moved from its initial kick-off time of 19:45, following discussions between the clubs.

It is understood the decision was made with the travelling Middlesbrough squad in mind as the coronavirus pandemic has shut hotels.

The fixture requires the visitors to travel one of the furthest distances for any of the matches in the second tier this season.

The game comes six years on from the day World Cup hosts Brazil endured a 7-1 loss to Germany in 2014’s semi-final, and some Millwall and Middlesbrough fans on social media were less than pleased at their sides being subjected to such an unusual kick-off time.

But others saw the funnier side, with one Twitter user saying "15:00 on a Wednesday is going to make for an amazing work Zoom call".

If your Millwall or Middlesbrough-supporting colleague is on mute with their camera turned off during a work video call that afternoon, no guesses about what they've really got their eye on...