Preston North End host Millwall at Deepdale on 10 October 2026 in a Championship fixture that matters far more to one side than the other. Sitting 23rd with four points from eight games, Preston are looking to a new manager for answers, though Graham Alexander, appointed on 28 September to replace Paul Heckingbottom, was never going to fix the arithmetic in a fortnight. He takes charge of his first home match on his birthday, a nice enough detail but Millwall arrive 11th with 11 points and only two off the play offs.
Neil has found Preston fairly straightforward since taking charge of Millwall in late December 2024, producing counter attacking displays built from a defensive low block. Alexander's record against him is essentially blank, so this first home outing becomes a test of whether his ideas can immediately disturb a system Neil has spent more than a year embedding.
Preston's last five reads D L L W L, their best result a 2-2 draw at QPR that also confirmed they cannot keep the ball out of their own net with any consistency. Millwall have been patchy too, winning just once in six though draws against West Ham and Middlesbrough show they can hold their shape when the result demands it, even if they have conceded more than Neil would like in recent weeks.
Preston are without Ali McCann, Caleb Wiley and Theo Carroll (ankle), thinning the midfield and stripping defensive cover for a manager still learning his squad, whereas Millwall are missing only Ryan Leonard and Tristan Crama through injury, reducing rotation in a busy schedule but leaving the first-choice shape intact.
Alexander is expected to use a back three focused on compactness and quick transitions but losing McCann and Carroll limits who can screen in front of the defence. Callum Lang is Preston's most dangerous player, though he needs midfield service to function and that service is going to be hard to generate without the players who would normally provide it. Neil's Millwall are built around defending deep and counter attacking, with Jake Cooper organising the back line and winning everything in the air while Lyndon Dykes gives them a physical presence up front. The battle between Lang's movement and Cooper's positioning will probably decide how much Preston can carve out and Millwall's ability to win second balls and break quickly should test Alexander's new defensive shape, particularly with Wiley out and the width he would have provided.
Preston lose more from their absences than Millwall do, as the visitors can maintain their low block without Leonard and Crama whereas Preston lose midfield control and aerial cover at a stroke.
Preston have not beaten Millwall in 14 league meetings, going six draws and eight defeats since a 3-1 win in February 2019. The most recent, a 2-0 Millwall victory in February 2026, followed the same pattern: compact defending, one or two clean chances taken, nothing given away and fourteen games without a win adds a layer of pressure on a dressing room already struggling.
Millwall's dead ball threat, centred on Cooper, is a danger in congested matches and Preston have looked vulnerable from set pieces all season with Carroll's absence making that worse. The visitors have had nearly two years to adapt to Neil's methods whereas Preston are starting from scratch. With Preston short in midfield, exposed from set pieces and facing a side that has not lost to them in 14 games, it is hard to see where they find a foothold. Millwall should sit back, limit Preston to half chances and threaten through Dykes on the counter. Alexander may bring some organisation but the midfield depth is not there to sustain it for ninety minutes and a 14 game unbeaten run in this fixture is not ending today. Predicted score: 0-2.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
