Millwall boss Neil Harris has already told club how to beat Watford in season opener

Millwall will welcome Watford to The Den on the opening weekend of the Championship next season as the highly-anticipated fixture calendar is unveiled by the EFL.

The match on Saturday, August 10 will kick off at the unusual time of 12:30 pm as Sky Sports begin to flex their influence on fixture times this season. Both the Lions and the Hornets will be hoping for improved seasons this time out.

Neil Harris and Tom Cleverley will oversee their first full seasons in charge of the clubs. Millwall are looking to avoid the relegation scare of last season while Watford will hope to sustain a play-off push with greater success than last time out.

A strong start in August is key for both clubs and Harris will be confident his side can get a result against the visitors having triumphed 1-0 when the teams met at The Den in March. That was the Millwall boss' first match back at the ground since his reappointment and followed the memorable 2-1 win over Southampton.

While Harris has had plenty more time to work with his squad, it seems likely he will tell supporters to affect the match in exactly the same way he did a few months ago. Speaking ahead of the Watford encounter in March, the head coach said: “I’ve had some unbelievable games that I’ve played and coached at The Den – in fantastic atmospheres and they were a huge success.

“It is a unique and special place, but you have to go about your business in the correct manner as a Millwall team – that’s my challenge to my players at the weekend. I want us to be a really strong, aggressive Millwall team. I will ask the players to do that and see if they can do it.

"We made a really positive start at the weekend and I want to continue that. I want The Den rocking on Saturday. I want that fear factor in the opponent because the noise is so strong, and also for them to carry us when that is needed.

“I want my players to embrace it. There won’t be any fear in my group at the weekend. They will go out and enjoy themselves – on the front foot. If you do that as a Millwall player, or a Millwall individual, then you’ve got one hell of a chance of winning a game of football at The Den.”

The Lions faithful certainly met that challenge and made their home ground a fortress when Watford came to visit with former manager Valerian Ismael. Zian Flemming scored the only goal of the 1-0 win in the third minute and Millwall then saw out the game in determined fashion.

Speaking after the game, Harris credited the atmosphere in the ground for achieving that result. He said: "The Den is a special place. Against Watford it was excellent and some of the players haven’t experienced that. They hadn’t experienced the excitement levels and togetherness that was in the stadium last week. It was so important.

“Even in the second half when the game was a little stale and the results elsewhere were filtering through with half the teams winning. Even then the fans still galvanised and got behind the boys.

“We need to make sure the fans carry the players but the players have to carry the fans as well at times. When you get that unity, that’s when it’s a special place and so many times I’ve been so fortunate to be on that pitch or sideline and felt that."