Millwall set to name strong U21 side for Burnley – as first-teamers top up their minutes

Billy Mitchell and Mason Bennett are both set to get 60-minute runouts for Millwall U21s today.

The Lions host Burnley with the fixture taking place at The Den this afternoon.

The pair are set to be joined by a host of other first-teamers – Bart Bialkowski, Shaun Hutchinson, Scott Malone, George Evans and Tyler Burey – who will boost their match sharpness ahead of the Championship run in.

Lions boss Gary Rowett wants to top up any of his squad who need minutes to make sure they are fully up to speed if they need to be involved in the club’s remaining seven matches of the regulation season.

Mitchell and Bennett both resumed full training last week following ankle injuries but did not make Millwall’s matchday squad for Saturday’s 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion.

“They were always in contention as soon as they were back training,” Rowett told the South London Press. “We sat as staff and discussed it. I spoke to Billy and he didn’t feel quite up to speed. When you get to that situation, what if someone gets injured after five minutes and they have got to play 85 minutes? At that point you say: ‘okay, let’s just leave it for another game and see where we are’.

“That’s the case for all of those. They are all available and today will give us a better indication of where they are in terms of a match, even though it is still not going to be a Championship match.

“And we’ll probably have the same debate after the game. I don’t think we’re desperate to get people involved. The question is when we feel they can offer us something we feel we haven’t got in the squad. Or when we feel they can come in and really impact. That’s the debate at this stage of the season on all of them.”