Millwall vs Watford Prediction: Irankunda on target again

Millwall and Watford close out gameweek six of the 2025/26 EFL Championship on Monday night (20:00 BST, Sky Sports Main Event) when they meet at The Den. The two sides have each made slow starts to the season, with the Lions currently 16th and the Hornets 21st, but both can move into the top half with a win tonight.

Below are my Millwall vs Watford predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Millwall's injury list is considerable, with Billy Mitchell (thigh), Femi Azeez (ankle), Alfie Doughty, Casper De Norre (both hamstring), Dan McNamara (knee) and Lukas Jensen (Achilles) all ruled out of Monday's game.

Will Smallbone (calf), Zak Lovelace (knee), Macaulay Langstaff (hip), Max Crocombe (toe) and Daniel Kelly (hamstring) are all doubts, too, but Massimo Luongo and Luke Cundle could both return after missing Wednesday's penalty shootout defeat to Crystal Palace (1-1) in the Carabao Cup second round.

Football Odds

Giorgi Chakvetadze (foot), Jack Grieves (knee), Pierre Dwomoh (thigh), Jeremy Ngakia (groin) and Caleb Wiley (muscle) are all doubtful for Watford, who could make changes from the 1-0 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers on September 13.

Nestory Irankunda, who had scored free-kicks in back-to-back draws with Swansea City (1-1) and Southampton (2-2) before jetting off on international duty with Australia and being benched on his return to England, looks likely to come back in from the beginning on Monday.

DR Congo international Edo Kayembe could also earn a recall to the starting XI, with Mamadou Doumbia and Rocco Vata both at risk of dropping out.

Today's Football Fixtures

Millwall vs Watford Odds

Millwall beat Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road in March, and the Lions are 21/20 to claim a second head-to-head victory of the calendar year, implying a 48.8% probability of success, while the Hornets, who won last season's corresponding fixture 3-2 in August 2024, are 3/1, or a 25% chance, to win at the Den again.

The draw is priced at 11/5, both teams to score, which landed in both meetings last season, at 11/10, and over 2.5 total goals at 11/8.

Betfred have five price boosts for Monday's game, including Millwall To Win To Nil at 9/4 (was 2/1).

Price Boosts - Watford To Win Either Half, Luca Kjerrumgaard (WAT) 1+ Shots On Target & Jake Cooper (MIL) To Be Carded @ 9/1 10/1

Watford have only won one of their first six games across all competitions this season, losing twice and drawing twice in the league, and exiting the Carabao Cup in the first round to Norwich City (1-2). So far, they've only managed to beat Queens Park Rangers (2-1), but they've won four halves out of a possible 12, and all three of their defeats have been by a one-goal margin.

The Hornets were 2-0 down at half-time to Norwich in the cup, but threatened a comeback in the second half with a 68th-minute strike from Kwadwo Baah, who was also on target in the 2-2 draw against Southampton in the league, when they were 1-0 down at the interval.

Paulo Pezzolano's side also won a half each in their victory over QPR and draw with Southampton.

Against an injury-hit Millwall, who are winless in their last three games across all competitions and are yet to win at home in the Championship this season, Monday's visitors to The Den stand a great chance of at least winning one half at a ground where they picked up all three points in 2024/25.

On-loan Udinese forward Luca Kjerrumgaard will fancy his chances of at least registering a shot on target, too.

The 22-year-old has only scored twice in five second-tier outings so far, and both of his goals came in the same match, the victory over QPR on August 16.

Still, the Dane has shown a degree of threat, forcing two saves in the stalemate with Swansea on August 23, meaning that he is averaging 0.8 shots on target per game.

Kjerrumgaard, who struck 22 times in the Danish second division last season, looks set to start again on Monday, and he will look to take advantage of an understrength home side.

The final leg of this Price Boost requires Millwall captain Jake Cooper to be carded.

Cooper only picked up four yellows in last season's Championship, but the defender had received 10+ in five of his previous six league campaigns, and went into the booking in Millwall's first game this term against Norwich.

The 30-year-old is averaging 1.4 fouls per game, and he could be forced to give away a few free-kicks on Monday against Watford star Irankunda, who has been fouled eight times across three league starts.

Anytime Goalscorer - Nestory Irankunda (WAT) @ 11/4

Former Adelaide United sensation Irankunda has made a promising start to life in England, scoring or assisting in each of his three Championship starts for Watford.

The 19-year-old, who joined the club in the summer from German giants Bayern Munich, provided the assist for Kjerrumgaard's opening effort against QPR before scoring a free-kick apiece against Swansea and Southampton.

He was dropped down to the bench against Blackburn last time out, but that was likely due to his international exertions with Australia, for whom he scored in the second of the Soccerroos' two September internationals with New Zealand.

Irankunda has now scored in his last three starts for club and country, so he should be riding high on confidence right now, making his 11/4 price to score anytime on Monday an appealing one, especially against a side that hasn't kept a clean sheet since August 23.

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