Nottingham Forest legend Garry Birtles has spoken about what the current side can expect for this weekend’s game.
The Reds return to league action following their FA Cup Third Round scalp of Arsenal last weekend.
Their next opponents are Millwall, who Birtles has warned of how difficult a game that could be for Steve Cooper’s side.
"That's where Steve Cooper will come into the equation. He knows about places to go that are difficult,” said Birtles on the latest Garibaldi Red podcast.
"Nowhere's easy to go in the Championship, we know that. Anybody's capable at the moment to beat anybody.
"You look at the top of the table, there's Huddersfield up there and Blackburn up there, maybe it wasn't expected but that's how difficult things can be at Championship level so going to Millwall, it's always been the fans, they've always been a hard style.”
Forest haven’t beaten Millwall at The Den in the Championship since 2013 despite both teams being in the same division the entire time between now and then.
Cooper’s side are now ninth in the table, having climbed from the very bottom of the division since Cooper’s appointment in September.
Their opponents on January 15 find themselves in 11th place, only one point behind the Reds going into this weekend’s clash.
Millwall lost their most recent league game, falling to a 3-2 defeat away to Bristol City. They were also dumped out of the FA Cup by local rivals and Premier League side Crystal Palace, losing 2-1.
The Verdict
After such a big result last weekend, it can be easy to get distracted and slip up in the very next game. This is common enough when it comes to cup upsets especially.
Just ask Wigan Athletic, who famously got relegated with a 4-1 loss just a few days after winning the competition in 2013.
Millwall especially has earned its reputation as a difficult place to go during the best of times, with the daunting atmosphere a challenge for the best professionals in the game.
If Forest want to climb their way into the play-off places then they need to win games like these. Those matches where their rivals could also drop points, means a win at Millwall offers them a chance to gain some valuable points on their rivals.