With both teams currently sat at opposite ends of the table, a win in South London is imperative for both Millwall and Derby County for very different reasons on Saturday as the two clubs look to stay in the Championship and achieve promotion from it respectively.

Millwall go into this game knowing they’re going to need something special from their last two games to stay in the division, as Ian Holloway’s tenure was far from a success – with the outspoken Westerner repeatedly being found out tactically before finally getting the bullet. Unfortunately for the Lions, their run-in is far from kind, with Millwall hosting Derby in their final home game before travelling to play-off chasing Wolves, who could still be in with a chance of finishing in the top six.

Things are therefore looking pretty bleak, but all hope is not yet lost. Despite being four points behind Rotherham following their 2-0 defeat against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday, Millwall have lost just two out of their last seven games and also claimed vital victories over Wigan Athletic and South London rivals, Charlton Athletic.

At the very least, Millwall are showing fight when it matters and this will please caretaker manager, Neil Harris, no end – showing fight when it matters is not, however, something many people would say of Derby County at this moment in time.

Fresh from last season’s Wembley heartbreak, where the Rams lost 1-0 to a 90th minute Bobby Zamora strike against 10-man Queens Park Rangers, finishing in the play-offs once more was not the remit for Derby boss Steve McClaren at the start of the season. Nevertheless, this is the best result Derby can now achieve after a horrendous run of one win in 10 games – a sequence that is far from promotion form and, if anything, is the type of run you’d associate with a team looking at the other end of the table.

To make matters even worse for McClaren, it was only in February that his team sat five points clear at the top of the division and seemed an absolute certainty to finish in one of the two automatic promotion places at the absolute worst.

Following Saturday’s incredible 4-4 draw with Huddersfield Town, it is now mathematically impossible for Derby to achieve that goal, and despite having two fixtures that they should – on paper at least – win against Millwall and Reading, there are some nerves jangling at the prospect of finishing outside the play-offs entirely.

The bookies seem to believe those nerves will be calmed after this match, however, with Derby big favourites at 10/11 to win, Millwall’s odds of victory at 7/2 and a draw available at 27/10.

Darren Bent has been in sublime form with 12 goals in 15 games for the Rams and is 5/1 to score first or 7/4 to net at any time during the game. Ricardo Fuller is Millwall’s top scorer this season with six and is 8/1 to open the scoring or 18/5 to add to his tally at any point.