Of the clubs' 20 previous matches against each other, none had greater consequences than the second leg of last year's play-off semi-final, the peak of Millwall's season and the end of United's.
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Fixtures do not get more decisive but Neil Harris, the Lions' record goalscorer, suspects that Monday night's contest at Elland Road will fall into much the same category.
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"It's a regular league game," he said, "but only on paper. There's much more to this than three points."
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The ever-changing state of League One has seen to that. Three months ago, Millwall were treading water outside the division's play-off positions. Victory in Leeds next week is now their avenue to automatic promotion, an outcome that Harris assumed was far beyond his club at the halfway point of the season.
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At its worst, the Lions' gap to Leeds stretched to 21 points. As the division stands, they are six points back and well aware of the crucial swing that could take place at Elland Road in four days' time. Yet again, the historic rivalry between the clubs will be rendered incidental by their proximity to one or other.
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"It's not a play-off semi-final, so you can't say it's the be-all and end-all, but it is a major, major match," Harris said.
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"Now that it's here, and the division looks like it does, it feels almost as big as the play-offs. We need a positive result; Leeds can't afford a defeat at home. There's no getting away from the significance of it all."
The implications of the result will be profound, however Leeds fair on Monday. The perfect scenario at full-time is a nine-point advantage over Millwall, a gap that might not be unbridgeable but which poses a serious question to Kenny Jackett's squad.
The nightmare for Simon Grayson is a loss which brings the London club to the fringe of second place, United's territory for the past two months.
It is, however, a contrast to the club's recent play-off last-four date. Millwall came to Elland Road for the second leg in May knowing the draw they ultimately achieved would safeguard an appearance at Wembley. On this occasion, Leeds are the team charged with avoiding defeat and holding back a club who are snapping at their heels.
Harris, for his part, is surprised to see Leeds at such close range. The Lions won two of their first 10 matches of the season and only emerged as credible candidates for automatic promotion at the start of this month.
After nine wins from 12 games, ending in a 4-0 rout of Charlton Athletic, they are arguably the division's form club.
"It's a surprise to be so close to Leeds," Harris conceded. "At the turn of the year, we weren't in great form and they were too far ahead for us to think about. We weren't even in the play-off places.
Leeds looked unreachable.
"But the quality you need most in this league is consistency. It's important to have talent, experience and all the rest of it, but it doesn't really count for anything if you're on form one week and off it the next or good for the first half of the season and poor for the second.
"Norwich are showing what consistency does for you. So are we. It's only since January that our results have come together, but we've shot up the league because of wholesale lingerie it.
"I knew a result like the one against Charlton was coming and they were unfor
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