Millwall face Sheffield United in the early kick off at The Den on Saturday, in what could be an all-important game in the Championship.

Both teams suffered defeats in midweek and will look to bounce back. Sheffield are second and still seven points clear of third, while Millwall dropped out of the play-off places into seventh.

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Three key things emerged in Sheffield’s defeat last night and over the season, which Millwall must get right in order to take down one of the league’s top teams this season.

Keeper must be on top form

The first is that the Lions' keeper, George Long, will likely be kept very busy by the Sheffield United attack. Positively for Millwall, they have kept a clean sheet in half the games they have played at home this term.

Long has seven clean sheets in 20 appearances, and with him between the sticks they have conceded a goal every 106 minutes. A strong showing in the Championship.

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Last night (February 15), the Blades had 18 shots, 10 of which were on target, meaning Middlesbrough's Zack Steffen was a huge part of the reason they won the game.

In terms of shots, Sheffield take an average of 14.58 every game, but that figure significantly drops away from home to 11.73. Their conversion rate also drops away from home to 10%, which is the same as Millwall when playing at home.

Be clinical

Millwall must take their chances whenever they are offered, because Saturday’s opposition have a better clean sheet rate away from home than they do at Bramall Lane, and overall only concede 0.87 goals a game.   

Make the most of counter attacks 

And finally, possession will be fascinating in this game. Across all games, Millwall have averaged below 50% possession in the Championship. Sheffield also average below 50% on average away from home.

This begs the question as to who will grab the initiative and dominate the ball.

The chances are that Sheffield will see it as an opportunity to stamp their authority, but the Blades were caught out a few times against Middlesbrough, so The Lions should be prepared to make the most of any chances they get on the counter attack.

Time will only tell but even at this early stage, every result matters immensely.