The fierce foes go head to head in a lunchtime Championship showdown at The Den on Saturday, meeting for the first time in over a decade.
The lack of regular games between these rivals has only heightened the sense of anticipation around their reunion, with West Ham eager to increase their lead at the second-tier summit as they seek to earn promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Millwall, meanwhile, head into the game sitting in mid-table after an inconsistent start to the campaign under Alex Neil and would love nothing more than to halt the Hammers’ momentum.
When was the last time Millwall played West Ham?
Saturday’s meeting between the fierce London rivals will be their first for some 14 years.
They have not crossed paths in any competition since the 2011/12 Championship season, when they faced off twice for the first time since that ugly League Cup second-round clash at Upton Park in August 2009, where there were pitch invasions and a riot.
That was after West Ham were relegated from the Premier League under Avram Grant after six years, losing out to Reading and Southampton in the race for automatic promotion but defeating Cardiff in the play-off semi-finals before then overcoming Blackpool at Wembley with Sam Allardyce at the helm.
On target: Carlton Cole celebrates scoring for West Ham against Millwall at Upton Park in February 2012
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The first game that season finished 0-0 at The Den in September 2011, with the likes of David Bentley and Henri Lansbury both spurning huge chances for West Ham, who emerged victorious from the return fixture five months later.
In February 2012, Kevin Nolan was sent off early for the hosts at Upton Park following a two-footed lunge on Jack Smith, but goals from Carlton Cole and Winston Reid either side of a Liam Trotter equaliser still saw the Irons earn bragging rights and go four points clear at the summit of the Championship.
The infamous League Cup tie in 2009 ended 3-1 to West Ham after extra time, with Junior Stanislas notching a brace and Zavon Hines and Neil Harris also on the scoresheet. Millwall’s last win over West Ham was at home in the Championship in November 2004.
The teams have only met seven times this century, with two wins each and three draws. West Ham have never won at the newer Den, with their last away win against Millwall coming all the way back in December 1988, when Paul Ince scored the only goal of the game in the First Division clash at the old Den. Their last away victory at Millwall before that was in March 1939.
Pitch invasion: The 2009 League Cup meeting between West Ham and Millwall was a shameful affair
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Millwall, meanwhile, have never visited West Ham’s current home at the London Stadium and last won at Upton Park in the Full Members Cup in November 1987.
Saturday’s match will be the 100th competitive clash between them, with the all-time head-to-head record reading 38 wins to 34 in Millwall’s favour, with 27 draws.
When do Millwall play West Ham again?
The return fixture in the Championship at the London Stadium is currently scheduled to take place on Saturday February 21, 2027.
