Leeds United defender Luke Ayling believes his team mates were caught out by Millwall last season, but claims that they won't suffer the same fate this weekend.

The league leaders travel to south London to take on Neil Harris' side, knowing a victory will keep them on step ahead ahead of the chasing pack.

However, The Den is a notoriously difficult place to go with Leeds falling to a 1-0 defeat there last September.

Pablo Hernandez and Ezgjan Alioski were both withdrawn at half time of that game, but both are expected to feature for longer this time around.

“Last year we went there and tried our hardest," Ayling told the Yorkshire Evening Post. "We still tried to play our game, but some of the boys got caught out by how hostile it was and how Millwall played."

This season Leeds look a more assured and calm side under Bielsa and Ayling believes that will lead them towards a wholly different performance this time around.

“It’s pretty much the same team this year, not many changes from the team who went down there last year, but people can see we’re a different team to last year. I think we can stand up to this kind of threat and this kind of style of play."

Millwall have won just one of their opening six matches, and were recently beaten 1-0 at The Den by Swansea City. That leaves them 16th in the current table, nine points behind the leaders at this early stage.

The Verdict

The Den is a tough place to go, but much of that is psychological.

Teams fear going there because it is a partisan crowd and produces a hostile atmosphere, but in footballing terms it is a game Leeds should look to be winning.

The day sides fail to fall foul of the mystique and hype around visiting Millwall is the day the Lions lose an important weapon in their arsenal.

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