Millwall vs Crystal Palace head to head: Who has the better record and when did they last play?

The fifth round of the FA Cup will take place this weekend, and the draw has sprung up a London derby to decide who gets into the quarter-final.

Crystal Palace will host rivals Millwall on Saturday at 12.15 pm, for what will be only the second meeting between the two sides in the last 10 years. The derby has come at a good time for both teams, who are in good form in the Premier League and Championship.

Crystal Palace have won four of their last five games in all competitions, including a 4-1 win against Aston Villa in midweek, in which goals came from Ismaila Sarr, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah. Mateta has become one of the hottest strikers in English football, as he has scored 12 goals in the Premier League so far this season under Oliver Glasner.

Meanwhile, Millwall won 1-0 against Derby County in the Championship in their last game, and they have only lost one of their last nine games in all competitions, recording wins over the likes of Leeds United, QPR and Portsmouth. The two meet for their first game since an FA Cup clash in 2022, for what is expected to be a fiery derby match at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace victorious in the last meeting

Last time the two teams met was in January 2022 for a third-round clash in the FA Cup, when Patrick Viera’s Palace made the 7.5-mile journey and saw themselves win 2-1 at the Den.

Gary Rowett was in charge of Millwall at the time, and he saw his side take the lead after just 17 minutes through striker Benik Afobe after a horrendous mistake from Palace keeper Jack Butland, which sent the Den into raptures.

The Eagles then grew into the game, creating several chances before now Bayern Munich attacker Michael Olise scored a superb goal, cutting inside and sending the ball past keeper George Long in the 46th minute straight after half time.

Just four minutes later, Olise cut inside in the same fashion and hit the post, before he put in a cross which Mateta got onto the end of in the 58th minute, handing Viera’s side a 2-1 lead.

With the last kick of the game, Michael Smith managed to get a header on target which was swallowed up by Butland. He could have sent the Lions fans mental with a late equaliser. However, Palace ended up winning the derby, and Millwall will hope for revenge this weekend.

Who has the better record?

This meeting of the two South London sides will be the 99th edition of the derby, with Millwall having the better of Palace overall.

In 98 meetings, the Lions have won 38 games, whereas Palace have won 30. The other 30 matches were drawn, which shows just how close a rivalry Millwall and Palace can be.

However, for all of Millwall’s success against their rivals, in the most recent times, Palace have the upper hand. In the last five meetings, Palace are unbeaten against their rivals, winning two games and drawing three.

The last time that Millwall beat Palace was a 3-0 win at the Den on New Year’s Day in 2011, when future Palace player Jason Puncheon scored a hat-trick in the derby.

For your next Crystal Palace read, Oliver Glasner revealed whether defender Marc Guehi will be available for the Millwall game on Saturday.