Match Pack: Saints vs Millwall
The New Year begins at St Mary's as Southampton face Millwall in the Sky Bet Championship. Get set for the first action of 2026 with our Match Pack...
THE MATCH
Southampton vs Millwall
Sky Bet Championship
St Mary’s Stadium
Thursday 1st January, 3pm GMT
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Tom Nield
Assistants: Simon Bennett, David Harrison
Fourth official: Neil Hair
THE KITS
Saints are starting the New Year in their traditional red and white stripes, while Millwall are in their home colours of royal blue and white.
TICKETS
A limited number of tickets remain on general sale for fans to buy. Prices start from £30 for Adults and £20 for Juniors.
LIVE COVERAGE
For those not with us on the south coast, the game will be live on Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting from 2.50pm GMT.
Saints Play match passes are also available to supporters in certain overseas territories.
THE PROGRAMME
The matchday programme is available to order online, as well as from the various sellers around St Mary’s.
This first edition of 2026 features a nostalgic cover courtesy of talented Saints fan James Willsher. Inside, you'll find a feature interview with our new head coach, Tonda Eckert, who also outlines his new year message to the supporters in his latest programme notes, while there's the latest from our Women's team and everything you need to know about our visitors.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
A mixed festive period leaves Saints wanting to make a positive start in 2026, with a potential three points against Millwall the perfect tonic.
Five unbeaten at St Mary's, Tonda Eckert will hope his side can rediscover the home form that saw them score three goals against each of Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester, Birmingham and West Brom across November and December.
After four games without a win, the Lions got back to winning ways against Bristol City on Monday night and will want to bolster their play-off hopes on the south coast.
TEAM NEWS
Saints: Indications are that Saints came away from Birmingham on Monday night with no fresh injury concerns, leaving Tonda Eckert with the same group to pick from.
Shea Charles, Ross Stewart, Mads Roerslev, Damion Downs and Sam Edozie therefore remain absent.
Millwall: The visitors will be boosted by the return of top scorer Femi Azeez, who's available after serving a three-game suspension.
Otherwise, Alex Neil is expected to have the same squad available to choose from, with Dan Kelly, Derek Mazou-Sacko, Josh Coburn, Will Smallbone, Luke Cundle, Casper De Norre, Lukas Jensen and Massimo Luongo all sidelined.
THE MANAGERS
Tonda Eckert: "The challenges are clear, which is a positive. It's no secret we need to improve our set-pieces and defending.
"They [Millwall] are still an excellent team. They are slightly more direct when they play away but we know we need to be strong on second balls, that’s the same as when we played them last time."
Alex Neil: “At the moment we’re a bit threadbare, which means we can make it a competitive, high-octane, running, fighting type game, and that suits us right now. When we get Casper [De Norre] and Billy [Mitchell] back, we’ll be able to do both.”
ONES TO WATCH
Elias Jelert: The Dane made an instant impact on his return to the side on Monday night, marking his first appearance since mid-October with an assist for Cameron Archer at Birmingham.
With Tom Fellows not 100% following a groin injury and Mads Roerslev still unavailable, Jelert's availability gives Tonda Eckert an exciting and timely option at wing-back.
Camiel Neghli: With Millwall's attacking options stretched due to injuries, the Algerian stepped up on Monday night with his first goal since September.
Starting the last five matches, Neghli's performance at the start of the week suggests he's at peak sharpness in timely fashion ahead of the trip to the south coast.
TOP SCORERS
Saints
Goals:
Armstrong 11
Azaz 6
Manning, Harwood-Bellis 4
Assists:
Armstrong 4
Manning, Azaz, Fellows, Scienza 3
Harwood-Bellis, Fraser 2
Millwall
Goals:
Azeez 6
Ivanovic 4
Crama, Cooper, Neghli, Leonard 2
Assists:
Ballo 5
Emakhu, Doughty 3
Crama, De Norre 2
FORM GUIDE
Saints
Birmingham (a) SBC: D 1-1 (Archer)
Oxford (a) SBC: L 1-2 (Harwood-Bellis)
Coventry (h) SBC: D 1-1 (Wood)
Norwich (a) SBC: L 1-2 (Manning)
West Brom (h) SBC: W 3-2 (Azaz, Armstrong 2)
Millwall
Bristol City (h) SBC: W 2-1 (Neghli, Langstaff)
Ipswich (h) SBC: D 0-0
Blackburn (a) SBC: L 0-2
Hull (h) SBC: L 1-3 (Emakhu)
Derby (a) SBC: D (Clarke OG)
HEAD TO HEAD
Played: 110
Saints wins: 52
Draws: 27
Millwall wins: 31
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Nov 2025: Millwall 3-2 Saints Championship (Armstrong, Azaz)
Feb 2024: Saints 1-2 Millwall Championship (Adams)
Nov 2023: Millwall 0-1 Saints Championship (Fraser)
Aug 2014: Millwall 0-2 Saints League Cup (Cork, Pellè)
Mar 2012: Millwall 2-3 Saints Championship (Lambert 3)
KEEP UP TO DATE
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A limited number of Men's Half Season Tickets are now available. Don't miss a minute of the action across the second half of the season, beginning with the visit of Hull City to St Mary's in January, with prices starting from around £21 per match.
