Millwall Away. No two words are more legendary in the lore of West Ham’s rivalries. It’s even been immortalized in Hollywood when Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam starred in the film Green Street Hooligans (2005). West Ham’s Championship fixtures were announced on Wednesday, and while they’ll be traveling to Burnley for their first match of the season on August 16th, the date all fans are circling is at The Den in their first London Derby against their bitter rival in 15 years.
The Hammers will meet Millwall on September 19, almost exactly 15 years from their 0-0 draw on September 17, 2011. The final time the two met at Upton Park, West Ham came away with a 2-1 victory on February 4th, 2012. The match will serve as an early-season gut check for Nuno Espírito Santo and his Championship squad's campaign. By then, the transfer window would be shut, and his club will be fully formed. The match will also be the 100th competitive meeting between the two clubs, a landmark that on its own would have generated headlines even without the geography and history layered on top.
The return fixture comes at the London Stadium on February 20, a date already being flagged across the Championship as one of the must-watch fixtures of the entire season, regardless of where either side sits in the table by then. Two East and South-East London clubs, a rivalry with genuine social and historical roots rather than manufactured tribalism, and a venue that holds more than double what The Den could ever stretch to. If West Ham's home support turns up the way they should for it, that fixture alone will be one of the loudest nights in English football history.
For West Ham, there's an additional psychological layer that makes the timing of these two fixtures particularly loaded. West Ham are fighting to prove relegation was just a blip rather than the start of a longer stay in the Championship. Millwall are coming off a season where the last couple of months were spent challenging for one of the 2 top spots for promotion, but eventually losing out in the playoffs to Hull City. They believe they are an ascending club, while West Ham still seems like a squad in flux because of the boardroom dysfunction.
The Rest of the Schedule
The first month of fixtures after Burnley may be perceived as light matchups. The Hammers host Charlton Athletic, then travel to Watford, before fixtures against Wolverhampton at home and away at Derby County. None of those carry anything like the weight of Millwall, but they're the games that will define whether they arrive at The Den in form.
West Ham will round out 2026 with matchups against Norwich City on Boxing Day, followed by Southampton and Bristol City on New Year’s Day. The holiday week of fixtures will be another test before Nuno decides what’s truly needed for promotion during the January transfer window. If they sit within one of the top 3 spots of the league, it may drastically change their strategy. By January, fans will know if they have a real shot at getting back up or if they are staying in the Championship for the foreseeable future.
Other matches to circle on the calendar are when Wrexham and all their fanfare arrive at the London Stadium on September 12. A strong primer for their fight against Millwall the following week. West Ham will also host Portsmouth on August 8th for the first round of the Carabao Cup. It will be their first trip to East London since 2012 and their first official match at The London Stadium.
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