Sheffield United's Saturday lunchtime win at Blackburn moves them up to third place but a victory for Burnley at Millwall in our game today could be enough to push the Clarets back into second position.
But remember, this is the Championship where nothing ever feels permanent.
Miserly Burnley just perfect for Parkerpublished at 14:50 Greenwich Mean Time 3 November 2024
14:50 GMT 3 November 2024
Millwall v Burnley (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Rex Features
Relegation and a change in manager can often take a bit of getting used to but Burnley found their Championship groove pretty quickly under Scott Parker.
The Clarets scored nine goals in their opening two games of the season and their only defeat came at the leaders Sunderland way back in August.
No-one in the top six tiers of English football has conceded fewer goals than Burnley and having only let in five, no team has scored more than once against them in a league game while they have also kept seven clean sheets in their 12 matches.
Having scored those nine goals in wins over Luton and Cardiff at the start of the campaign, they have only managed a further eight in the subsequent 10 games which, but for that defensive record, might be a cause for concern.
Parker has a relatively settled side and convincing Maxime Esteve, Josh Cullen and Luca Koleosho to sign new deals earlier this season looks like smart business as he plans for a potential return to the Premier League.
Boring, boring Millwall? Not if you're winning...published at 14:48 Greenwich Mean Time 3 November 2024
14:48 GMT 3 November 2024
Millwall v Burnley (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Rex Features
'Boring, boring Arsenal' is a chant which used to reverberate around stadiums up and down the country as the Gunners ground out another 1-0 victory.
Well, it seems Millwall like a good old fashioned 1-0 as well - of their 20 wins since the start of last season, 12 have been by that scoreline including their past two games.
Victories over Plymouth and Swansea have lifted Neil Harris' side to the fringes of the play-off race and three points today would take them up to seventh place, two points behind sixth placed West Brom.
The Londoners might not be the most prolific going forward but with only two goals conceded in their last five, a settled back line has been key to their success.
The central defensive partnership of Japhet Tanganga and Jake Cooper has only failed to start two of their 12 league games with Tanganga missing two matches.
Up front the signing of Macauley Langstaff was expected to provide a regular supply of goals but the summer arrival from Notts County has struggled to find the prolific form he produced at Meadow Lane with just one goal from six starts.
Meanwhile you have to go back to September 21 for the last of leading scorer Duncan Watmore's five goals.
Either way, Millwall's recent form is impressive enough to suggest they'll give Burnley more than a game today.
A Sunday gift from the Championshippublished at 14:46 Greenwich Mean Time 3 November 2024
14:46 GMT 3 November 2024
Millwall v Burnley (15:00 GMT)
Image source, Getty Images
Good afternoon,
Hopefully you've got your breath back after another Saturday of Championship thrills, spills and downright chaos.
In case you missed any of it you can catch-up here.
So what do we have today?
Well, Burnley can move as high as second with a win at Millwall while the Londoners are going for a third successive victory and a place in the top seven.
Jake Cooper scored the only goal of the game at The Den as Millwall beat Burnley in the Championship
Chris Peddy
BBC Sport
Promotion chasers Burnley were beaten for the first time since August as Jake Cooper's headed goal gave Millwall a big win at The Den.
The Lions moved up to seventh in the Championship table and within two points of the play-off places with their third 1-0 win in a row.
Cooper's looping header in the 52nd minute proved decisive after Macaulay Langstaff and Femi Azeez had missed chances in a strong end to the opening period.
Burnley could not find a response despite having more than 60% possession and stay fourth in the table, six points behind league leaders Sunderland.
Spirited Millwall continue winning run
Image source, Rex Features
Image caption,
Lukas Jensen kept his third clean sheet in a row in goal for Millwall
For the second week in a row, Millwall had less of the ball but proved clinical in their finishing to walk off with three points - having beaten Swansea 1-0 last Saturday.
This could be their biggest win yet. Millwall's fine form has taken them from 20th to seventh in the league in the space of 15 days.
Boss Neil Harris had bemoaned his side's defensive lapses in early matches but they have built a solidity in recent weeks and Ryan Leonard, Joe Bryan and Japhet Tanganga looked assured under the leadership of Cooper as the home side completed their third shut-out in three games.
The goal came from a Leonard long throw, initially cleared but recycled by Millwall for Azeez to send in the cross, with captain Cooper leaping high to head into the corner.
The visitors struggled to deal with the towering centre-back all afternoon and twice he was calling for a penalty kick as he went down in tussles with Clarets defender Connor Roberts.
This was a similar story. And worryingly for Scott Parker, his side have now failed to score in three of their past five league matches.
Burnley started the game brightly, with Luca Koleosho and Andreas Hountondji looking particularly threatening but without troubling Millwall keeper Lukas Jensen.
A long stoppage for an injury to assistant referee Matthew Smith seemed to stunt their momentum and it was the hosts who finished the first half well, with Langstaff forcing a stunning diving save from James Trafford and the brilliant Azeez volleying over the bar.
Burnley pushed for the equaliser with long periods of possession in the Millwall half but without managing to create chances of note.
Substitute Jay Rodriguez headed over late on for the visitors but Burnley were unable to come up with the goal that would continue an unbeaten run that had stretched back to their Carabao Cup defeat by Wolves on Wednesday, 28 August.
Image source, Rex Features
Image caption,
Burnley failed to score for the third time in their past five Championship matches
'Millwall players on fire at the moment' - Harris
Millwall head coach Neil Harris said:
"We're disappointed we're not higher up the league. We should have a lot more points than we have.
"We won't bemoan that because we feel we are a team going in the right direction, but we haven't come across a team better than us yet.
"The players are flying at the moment."
Burnley head coach Scott Parker said:
"The long pause in the game [when the linesman was injured] may have been a factor.
"We are a young team, the players have maybe not seen that before.
"After that point, Millwall seemed to get some momentum. Then in the second half we never really got going."
Millwall are winless in their last six league meetings with Burnley (D3 L3) since a 3-1 win in February 2012.
Burnley are unbeaten in their last five league visits to Millwall (W2 D3) since losing 1-0 back in the 2005-06 campaign.
Millwall have won each of their last two league games – both 1-0 against Plymouth and Swansea. Since the start of last season they’ve won 12 Championship games by that scoreline, at least five more than any other side.
Burnley are unbeaten in their last nine league games (W4 D5), keeping six clean sheets in that run.
Only Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday (both 5) have scored more goals in the final 10 minutes of Championship games this season than Millwall (4), while Burnley are one of two sides yet to concede in that time this campaign along with Stoke.
Image source, BBC Sport
