FA Cup | Third Round

Jan 13, 2025 at 7.30pm UK

The Den

Millwall vs Dag & Red

Match preview

The Daggers said goodbye to former manager Ben Strevens after their 4-2 home defeat to Braintree Town on Boxing Day, a result that left them just five points clear of the drop zone.

Since Strevens left, Dagenham have been led by caretaker manager Lewis Young, who has helped to steady the ship. The club is now closer to the playoff positions than the relegation zone.

He's done a great job, quickly improving their away record, which was poor under Strevens. The team's now on 7 points from 33, which is way better than the 4 they got in the whole season before Strevens left.

Both of Young's games in charge have been away from home, and he's guided the Daggers to a win and a draw in those matches, including a 1-1 draw with Forest Green Rovers last time out.

The visitors will be looking to take their newfound confidence into the cup tie against Millwall, having already beaten Football League opposition twice to reach the third round, with wins against Crewe Alexandra and AFC Wimbledon in the last two rounds.

Meanwhile, the hosts have been struggling for form recently and, like Dagenham, have also had a managerial change, with former boss Neil Harris leaving the club in mid-December.

He was replaced at The Den by Alex Neil, and the former Sunderland manager is still looking for his first win as manager of his new club, having picked up one point from his first two games.

With Harris, interim manager David Livermore and now Neil at the helm, Millwall have only secured one win in their last 11 games. With 21 games left in the league, they're currently sitting in 14th place in the Championship table, seven points away from the drop and 10 points off the playoffs.

The Lions have been solid at the back this season and have the seventh-best defensive record in the Championship, but they're not in a better position in the standings because they're not that attacking, having only scored 24 goals in 25 league games this season.

When they've played non-league teams at home, the hosts should feel confident that they can score on Monday evening, but the Daggers will be looking to take advantage of any nerves in the Millwall team. The visitors will be aiming to progress to the fourth round for the first time since 2003.

Recent Performance

Millwall form:LWLDLD

Dagenham & Redbridge FA Cup form:WWW

Dagenham & Redbridge form:WWLLWD

Team News

Millwall have a few injury concerns ahead of this match. Aidomo Emakhu (groin) and Josh Coburn (foot) won't be playing for a while, and Duncan Watmore is also expected to miss the game with a quad injury.

On the plus side for the hosts, Danny McNamara, Jake Cooper and Calum Scanlon have all returned to training following lengthy absences, with both Cooper and McNamara expected to return to action soon.

Romain Esse is probably going to miss the game though, as he's about to join Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

Sam Ling is a bit of a doubt for the visitors after he was injured early in the match against Forest Green.

Top scorer Dion Pereira hasn't played since the defeat to Braintree on Boxing Day, so if he's not in the starting line-up, Josh Rees will be the biggest goal threat for Dagenham.

Possible starting lineup

Millwall possible starting lineup:

Jensen; Bryan, Wallace, Tanganga, Leonard; Saville, De Norre, Azeez, Honeyman; Langstaff, Ivanovic

Dagenham & Redbridge possible starting lineup:

Justham; Kalambayi, Rutherford, Rendall; N'Guessan, Hessenthaler, Phipps, Remy; Stephenson, Rees, Hill