After a strong end to the season, Millwall will be looking to reach the play-offs for the first time since their promotion to the Championship in 2017.

The Lions have climbed from ninth in the league at the beginning of January, to sixth, with one game to play. Gary Rowett’s men have toyed with the idea of promotion for the last few years, but have lacked the final surge that would see them finish in the play-off positions.

But this year they stand a great chance of finishing in the play-offs. They sit in sixth position, with one game left to play, and are two points ahead of Sunderland, West Brom and Blackburn Rovers who are level on points below Millwall, with 66.

 

How can Millwall secure a play-off position?

 

It all starts with beating Blackburn Rovers, when the two sides face off against each other on Monday (May 8) at The Den.

Win that game, and the play-offs are secure for Millwall. They will finish the season on 71 points, and will reach a points tally that is physically impossible for the three teams below them to reach.

The biggest problem for Millwall is that they play Blackburn, who need the win as desperately as they do, to keep their season alive.

In order for Blackburn to finish sixth, they need to beat Millwall, and hope that both Sunderland and West Brom lose their final games of the season against Preston and Swansea respectively.

MORE MILLWALL NEWS

With both teams’ seasons on the line, Monday’s fixture could be a feisty, or even nervy affair.

Blackburn won the first encounter between the two sides earlier on in the season 2-1.

If the Lions draw with Blackburn on Monday, finishing in the play-offs becomes a little harder, but is still possible.

If the points are shared, Millwall will finish the season on 69 points, which is currently level on points with Coventry in fifth, but with a worse goal difference. Coventry would have to lose their last game of the season by four goals or more and score less then two goals in that game, which would see Millwall finish above them on goals scored (which is very unlikely).

In this scenario a Sunderland win on the final day of the season would push Millwall out of the play-off positions on goal difference. West Brom would also push the Lions down the table with a win over Swansea, which could see Millwall finish as low as eighth if both Sunderland and West Brom win, and the Lions draw.

It goes without saying that a loss for Millwall would not be enough for the Lions to finish in the play-offs. Blackburn would leapfrog Millwall onto 69 points, meaning Millwall would fall to seventh, and that’s without Sunderland and West Brom’s results being taken into consideration.

 

If they qualified, who would Millwall play?

 

As it stands, Millwall are the favourites for the last play-off position, and if they avoid a loss to Blackburn, they stand a good chance of making it. If the Lions were to secure sixth position (the most likely outcome), they would play against Luton Town in the play-off semi-finals. Luton have secured a third placed finish in the league this year, but haven’t beaten Millwall this season. Both results against the Lions have ended in draws this term, one game finishing goalless, and the other game finishing 2-2.

If the Lions were to win their last game of the season and Coventry were to lose, Millwall would climb into fifth position and would face off against Middlesbrough. The Lions beat Middlesbrough 2-0 at The Den earlier on in the season, but lost 0-1 at the Riverside.

Millwall have proven that despite being placed below Middlesbrough and Luton, they can compete with both teams, and if they make it to the play-offs, there is a good possibility the Lions could make it to the final.

But the focus for Millwall at the moment is getting there with a win against Blackburn Rovers on Monday.