Millwall boss Gary Rowett has praised the work of Birmingham City boss Pep Clotet as the Lions prepare to host the Blues who are unbeaten in their last 11 matches.

Rowett's side saw their play-off hopes suffer a blow over the weekend as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Wigan, and they will now be aiming to climb up to within four points of the top six if they beat Birmingham and other results go their way.

However, they are preparing to face a Birmingham side who have recently steered clear of the relegation picture following an impressive unbeaten run, with this sequence of results including victories over Nottingham Forest and Bristol City.

Speaking to London News Online, Rowett has now praised the work of Clotet at his former club over their recent positive period, while the Millwall boss has now backed the Blues to kick on following their encouraging run of form.

“They have been really good in this last period," Rowett said.

"They have got good players who know the Championship and [Jude] Bellingham is a young player who gives that vibrancy to the team

“Pep Clotet has done a really good job of stabilising it and I’m sure they are hoping to kick on from here on. It is down to use to do what we have done more often than not at home – and that’s to turn the form book around and make it a difficult game for any team.”

Rowett enjoyed a successful spell in charge of Birmingham between 2014 and 2016, with the current Millwall boss transforming the Blues from relegation candidates to play-off contenders during his two-year stint at St Andrew's.

Can you score maximum points in this Millwall quiz? Have a go now!

The Verdict

Millwall must avoid defeat against Birmingham if they want to get their play-off campaign back on track, but Rowett's men now certainly face a tough test against a side who other play-off contenders have struggled against in recent weeks.

Birmingham travel to The Den riding high on confidence after snatching a late points against Sheffield Wednesday over the weekend, but they will definitely be aware of the fact that Millwall is far from an easy place to get a result.

This will be an interesting test of Birmingham's credentials following their impressive form of late, but Millwall will be desperate to return to winning ways given the disappointment of the Wigan defeat over the weekend.