Millwall boss makes 'key' Leeds United admission ahead Championship fixtures release

Millwall boss Neil Harris admits Leeds United will be the first opponent he will be looking out for when the Championship fixtures drop. Next season's fixtures will be released on Wednesday morning at 9am, with Leeds and the other 23 second tier clubs set to learn their respective routes through the 2024-25 campaign.

It's always an exciting day for football supporters who will spend time poring over their club’s schedules, planning away trips, assessing the difficulty of starts and run-ins and picking out fixtures against rivals. Managers are no different, it seems, with Harris admitting Leeds will be on his mind when he first gets a glimpse of the new season's fixtures.

The two clubs have a fairly long-standing rivalry which was renewed last season as the Whites did the double over the Lions. Daniel Farke's side ran riot at The Den, silencing the famously vociferous home support as goals from Joel Piroe and Georginio Rutter helped Leeds record a 3-0 win, the largest winning margin ever recorded between the two teams.

There was no love lost when Millwall made the journey up to Elland Road in March either as the two sides played out a relatively ill-tempered affair with seven yellow cards being handed out. Ultimately, Leeds were the winners on that occasion, too, hitting the top of the Championship table with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Wilfried Gnonto and Dan James.

The last time Millwall had any success in the fixture was October 2019 and Harris is looking forward to renewing acquaintances once more next season.

"I always like to be at home the first game of the season,” the Millwall boss told the South London Press. “And I always look to when we play Leeds home and away, they are always a key one for me.

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“I always look for the Christmas schedule, that is vitally important for the balance of the football club, for fixtures and for family life – it is a key period. Other than that, you have an individual opinion on the games you’d like first up and teams you don’t want to face. Ultimately the fixtures are drawn randomly and you get who you are given.

“We look forward to Wednesday, I always think it’s a big day in the annual football calendar. Even during the Euros, when there is a football focus, that is international football – fixtures release day in the EFL really sets the tone for a huge part of the population to start thinking about club football again.”