Preview: Rotherham United vs. Coventry City - prediction, team news, lineups

Rotherham United will be searching for their first win in five matches when they host Coventry City at the AESSEAL New York Stadium in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Millers were denied any points by a late Reading goal on Tuesday evening, whereas Coventry were successful on home soil against Millwall on the same night.

Match preview

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Rotherham were victims of a Royals comeback last time out, with Lee Peltier's opener in the first half being wiped out by strikes from Andy Carroll and a sickening 90th-minute winner from Tyrese Fornah.

For most of the second half, it appeared that the Millers were heading towards their fourth-straight draw in the Championship, but a late charge from Paul Ince's men snatched all the points off the visitors.

After a promising start to the campaign which saw Rotherham within the top six, Matthew Taylor's men have dropped down in the second-tier standings into 20th position, just three points above Wigan Athletic who sit in 22nd place.

The sole objective of this season for the Yorkshire-based club is to regain their Championship status, and you feel - despite recent results - that this current Rotherham crop have a better chance of surviving than those that finished in the bottom three in the past.

The Millers have been impressive on home soil in recent matches, holding high-flying Sheffield United to a goalless draw and thumping Blackburn Rovers 4-0 in their last two games at the New York Stadium.

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Following a six-game winless run after Christmas - one which included a humbling 4-3 defeat to National League side Wrexham in the FA Cup - Coventry supporters were left wondering if their team had enough to challenge for a top-six position this season.

The Sky Blues have kept their promotion dreams alive over the last four matches, collecting a healthy seven points, with their only loss in that period coming at The Hawthorns against a West Bromwich Albion side rejuvenated by new boss Carlos Corberan.

Mark Robins's men are sitting in 11th place in the Championship table, five points behind sixth-placed Watford who have played a game more, showing there is clearly work to be done to reach the playoffs, but such a goal is achievable with 15 games left.

Talisman Viktor Gyokeres has benefitted from having other striking options such as Tyler Walker and Sean Maguire available since the start of February, with the 24-year-old netting the decisive goal last time out to defeat Millwall.

Apart from the obvious positive of adding points to their own tally, by beating the Lions Coventry were able to claw back one of their rivals for a top-six place - an opportunity they will be afforded again next week when they face Sunderland.

Team News

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Rotherham boss Taylor opted for a 4-4-2 formation at Reading on Tuesday night, with Conor Washington and Jordan Hugill leading the visitors' attack, however Irishman Chiedozie Ogbene could return to the starting XI on Saturday to replace one of the aforementioned forwards.

Midfielder Ben Wiles remains out until the end of the month with an ankle injury picked up in December, whereas centre-back Sean Morrison has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a thigh injury.

Coventry will welcome back Josh Wilson-Esbrand to the matchday squad after the wing-back served a one-match suspension for picking up a red card in the draw with Luton Town last weekend.

The Sky Blues suffered a massive injury blow in the warm-up last Saturday, with influential midfielder Ben Sheaf sustaining a calf strain which is expected to keep him out of action for around a month.

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Peltier, Wright, Humphreys, Bramall; Rathbone, Odoffin, Coventry, Fosu; Hugill, Ogbene

Coventry City possible starting lineup:

Wilson; McNally, McFadzean, Doyle; Norton-Cuffy, Hamer, Eccles, Bidwell, Allen; Gyokeres, Palmer

We say: Rotherham United 1-1 Coventry City

Rotherham are embroiled in a relegation battle many pundits expected them to be in at the start of the season, but their recent home results will give them confidence of earning a maximum on Saturday.

The Sky Blues have been hit with injury woes once again in the form of midfielder Sheaf's calf knock, and this will undoubtedly impact their results over the coming weeks.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.