MILLWALL DON’T often get to host a club of Brondby’s size at The Den, which makes Saturday’s friendly match even more exciting for the club’s supporters.
The Lions will make a quick return to action after a two-week break for the World Cup, having finished on a high with a 4-2 win against Preston North End on November 12th. The players were given a week off to recover and relax, with some going off on holiday for the first time since the summer.
They restarted training on Monday morning ahead of Saturday’s clash against Brondby, although all eyes are on their upcoming trip to the Stadium of Light to play Sunderland.
That doesn’t take anything away from the significance of tomorrow’s friendly match, however, with the Drengene fra Vestegnen boasting eleven league titles, seven Danish Cups and multiple appearances in major European tournaments.
All isn’t well in the town of Brondbyvester, however, with the club sitting tenth out of twelve teams in the table after seventeen league games. It prompted them to part ways with Niels Frederiksen shortly before the break, meaning that they will travel to South Bermondsey without a manager. On the flip side, they have recently been taken over by American group Global Football Holdings, a takeover which could be a huge boost both on and off the pitch.
There are some big names in the team, with former Sevilla midfielder Daniel Wass arguably the most high-profile member of their squad. However, showing that on the pitch has clearly been a challenge, and Millwall will relish the test of facing yet another Scandinavian opponent on home soil after their penalty shootout defeat against Swedish outfit Hammarby IF.
Manager Gary Rowett will obviously use the match as a chance to rebuild his squad’s fitness levels, although he may be keen to give some game time to some of his fringe players such as Isaac Olaofe and George Evans.
Furthermore, the likes of Ryan Leonard and Shaun Hutchinson [both hamstring] could be eased back into action after recovering from their injuries, although Benik Afobe [knee] remains ruled out.
Rowett previously told NewsAtDen that he was excited to host a “traditional and successful” club, adding that “it should be a really good test, a different type of test and a good experience”.
The Millwall boss has said that the Lions are set to add a second friendly fixture ahead of their trip to Wearside, and that the squad would be split across the two matches in order to give everyone a suitable amount of game time ahead of their return to competitive action.
Millwall predicted XI: 4-2-3-1: Long; McNamara, Hutchinson, Cooper, Wallace; Mitchell, Saville; Voglsammer, Flemming, Burey; Bradshaw
Photo: Millwall FC