League One league leaders Rotherham United will look to extend their unbeaten run to 20 games in all competitions when they face Burton Albion on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the visitors sit in 10th place, and they will be hoping to return to winning ways after losing their last two matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
Rotherham sit in pole position in League One courtesy of a superior goal difference, and they enter Saturday's contest in supreme form.
The Millers have not lost since September 11 and after only suffering three league defeats this season, Rotherham are eyeing an immediate return to the Championship.
On Tuesday, they thrashed Gillingham 5-1, with Daniel Barlaser playing a key role as he netted a brace, while Freddie Ladapo, Mikel Miller, Chiedozie Ogbene all grabbed a goal apiece.
That comfortable victory was the second time in their previous three league home games that Rotherham have scored five goals.
They have been strong at both ends of the pitch this season, having scored the most goals in the league while also conceding the fewest.
© Reuters
Burton Albion will know that they face a tough task on Saturday with the visitors aiming to avoid a third consecutive defeat in all competitions.
Last weekend, the Brewers were eliminated from the FA Cup after losing 2-1 at home to Port Vale, and they were on the wrong end of the same scoreline on Tuesday, when they faced Wycombe Wanderers in the league.
Brandon Hanlan and Gareth McCleary grabbed a goal apiece to give Wycombe a two-goal lead at half time, and although Conor Shaughnessy pulled one back for Burton at the start of the second half, they were unable to find an equaliser.
Despite the disappointing midweek defeat, Burton can take confidence from two wins in their last three league games.
Although, after collecting eight of their 28 points on the road, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will be concerned with the Brewers' away form.
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Shane Ferguson returned to the Rotherham squad to make a substitute appearance on Tuesday, and the Northern Ireland international is likely to be on the bench once again for Saturday's contest.
The Millers should be able to welcome back Richard Wood to the squad after recovering from a groin problem, although the defender may have to settle for a place amongst the substitutes.
Michael Smith has top-scored for Paul Warne's side this season, netting 11 goals in the league, and he will be looking to add to that tally when he partners Ladapo upfront at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Lucas Akins returned to the Burton starting lineup on Tuesday, and he will keep his place for the trip to Yorkshire.
Aaron Amadi-Holloway is also likely to start Saturday's encounter after coming into the front three for the midweek trip to Wycombe.
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Edmonds-Green, Ihiekwe, Harding; Wiles, Barlaser, Ogbene, Rathbone, Miller; Ladapo, Smith
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Garratt; Shaughnessy, Oshilaja, Borthwick-Jackson; Hamer, O'Connor, Mancienne, Akins; Smith, Jebbison, Amadi-Holloway
We say: Rotherham United 2-0 Burton Albion
Given their superb form this season, it is hard to see this encounter ending in anything but a home win, and we expect the Millers to clinch their fourth successive home league victory on Saturday.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rotherham United win with a probability of 60.61%. A draw had a probability of 22% and a win for Burton Albion had a probability of 17.35%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rotherham United win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.04%) and 2-1 (9.86%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.48%), while for a Burton Albion win it was 0-1 (5.57%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 6.2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Rotherham United would win this match.
