Millwall vs Crystal Palace Odds: Two plays for classic rivalry at The Den

Almost 100 years to the day since this South London derby was first contested in the Football League, Crystal Palace travel eight miles north to take on Millwall in the FA Cup.

Palace won that game a century ago, 1-0 at The Den, and will be hoping they can repeat that feat live on ITV to avoid a third consecutive third round defeat in this competition.

The Eagles have been knocked out at this stage by losing 1-0 for the past two years, to Derby and Wolves, so Patrick Vieira might be hoping he can motivate them for a deep run into the competition - especially given their league season is effectively done already.

12 points above the relegation zone and 11 points below West Ham in 5th, it’s unlikely that they’re going to end up in a battle at either end of the table so progression in the cup could be on the cards.

Their away record leaves a lot to be desired though, they’ve picked up just six points and conceded 18 goals in their nine away league games so far this season - as well as being knocked out of the League Cup at Watford in August.

Their single away win this season did come against table topping Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium though, proving that they can pull it out of the bag when they need to.

If Palace are meandering towards another mediocre season, then Millwall almost certainly are.

Not good enough to make an exciting challenge for the playoffs but with a defence that’s solid enough that they shouldn’t find themselves in a relegation battle, it’s looking like a sixth consecutive Championship season is inevitable.

The Lions have a habit of making themselves tough to beat at home, which is why they’ve only lost two of their 11 home games so far this season.

It’s a double-edged sword for Gary Rowett’s side though, in that while they don’t concede many - they also don’t score many. The hosts average just 1.13 goals per game in the Championship, and have only scored more than once on four occasions.

With that in mind, they’ll be hopeful of a return of Jed Wallace amid transfer speculation linking him to Turkish side Besiktas.

He’s been involved in 41% of their Championship goals so would undoubtedly be a huge miss for them, as are Ryan Leonard, Connor Mahoney and Arsenal loanee Dan Ballard who all won’t play. There’s a chance Maikel Kieftenbeld and Mason Bennett could also return.

Palace, meanwhile, are without a trio of stars as Wilfried Zaha, Jordan Ayew, and Cheikhou Kouyate head off to represent their countries at the African Cup of Nations.

It should mean an opportunity for Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise to impress, whilst Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher faces a race to be fit enough to feature.

Cooper has picked up six bookings in 19 starts in the Championship this season, including three in his last six games.

The 6’6 behemoth has been playing on the left of a back three for Gary Rowett’s side and could have to contend with the tricky Eberechi Eze - who was fouled 2.1 times per game in the Premier League last season.

The Lions have seen this scoreline in seven of their eleven games against higher ranked opposition this season, whilst the visitors have drawn six of their 10 games against teams outside the top 8 in the Premier League.

In what is expected to be a tense tie between two old rivals, don’t be surprised to see it finish all square after 90 minutes.

2022 Profit/Loss: +1pt