Fresh off the departure of manager Alex Neil, Sunderland will welcome Rotherham United to the Stadium of Light on Wednesday.

The two newly-promoted sides have both made pleasing starts to the Championship season, and the Black Cats will hope to return to winning ways in their second game without the Scotsman on the touchline.

Match preview

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Following Alex Neil's appointment as manager in February, Sunderland enjoyed an eye-catching run of form to book their place in the League One playoffs and eventually make a return to England's second tier as they triumphed over Wycombe in the final at Wembley.

The Black Cats would carry that form into the new season as they made a positive start to the Championship term, collecting eight points from the opening five games, having moved onto that tally with a 1-0 win away at Stoke City courtesy of a Ross Stewart goal in the stroke of half time.

With the Stoke managerial role then becoming vacant, Neil was quickly linked with the post in Staffordshire, and, as a result, they headed into Saturday's contest at home to Norwich City without him present at the Stadium of Light.

That game remained goalless until the 76th minute, but Joshua Sargent eventually opened the scoring and the Canaries held on for all three points, before the Scottish manager's departure was officially announced on Sunday.

Now searching for a new boss to take over at the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats will set out to return to winning ways on Wednesday against another side who won promotion back to the Championship last term.

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Rotherham United make the trip on the back of an impressive start of their own, as they aim to secure a second consecutive season in the second tier for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign after a run of consecutive promotions and relegations under Paul Warne.

They began with a home game against Swansea City and came away with a 1-1 draw, before their trip to Coventry City was postponed and followed by a first league win, with the Millers thrashing Reading 4-0 thanks to goals from Richard Wood, Conor Washington, Jamie Lindsay and Chiedozie Ogbene.

Draws away at Preston North End and Queens Park rangers then followed, before the South Yorkshire outfit dropped out of the EFL Cup against Morecambe and returned to league action at home to Birmingham City on Saturday.

Wood opened the scoring in the 28th minute, and the defender would net his and the Millers' second of the game in the second half to ensure they put a second three-point haul of the season on the board and remained unbeaten.

Now with nine points from their opening five outings, having only conceded two goals and not yet suffered a defeat, Rotherham United certainly have a strong platform to build their season on in their bid to establish themselves in the second tier, and they will hope to continue their strong start on Wednesday.

Team News

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In his first game in charge, interim Sunderland boss Martin Canning did not make too many alterations to the 3-4-1-2 setup that Alex Neil had established, and we again should not see many changes, with defender Dan Ballard and attacker Leon Dajaku remaining out of action through injuries.

Experienced defender Bailey Wright was left on the bench at the weekend, with Luke O'Nien and Dennis Cirkin preferred either side of Danny Batth in the back three, and the Australian international will be vying to return to the starting XI, as will attack-minded midfielders Patrick Roberts and Elliot Embleton.

Changes are unlikely in the front line, though, with last season's top scorer Ross Stewart and Everton loanee Ellis Simms forming a dangerous strike force with support from key man Alex Pritchard.

Rotherham United are expected to make the trip north with an unchanged starting XI, after new signing Brooke Norton-Cuffy impressed in his first game following a loan move from Arsenal.

Captain Richard Wood should continue to command the back line alongside Grant Hall and Cameron Humphreys, although Wes Harding will be pushing to come back in, while Dan Barlaser, Ben Wiles and Oliver Rathbone will all keep their places in midfield.

Other than Wood, Chiedozie Ogbene has been the Millers' main attacking threat so far, netting three goals in their first five Championship outings, and summer signings Tom Eaves and Conor Washington will likely fight for the other spot up front.

Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; O'Nien, Batth, Cirkin; Gooch, Neil, Embleton, Clarke; Pritchard; Simms, Stewart

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Hall, Wood, Humphreys; Norton-Cuffy, Rathbone, Barlaser, Wiles, Bramall; Ogbene, Washington

We say: Sunderland 1-1 Rotherham United

Spirits in the Sunderland camp may be low after the departure of Neil, and, while we do not see the Millers taking all three points in a tough midweek trip to the Stadium of Light, they should have enough to snatch a point given the confidence they will have from a strong start.

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Written by
Sam Varley

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