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

The home side go into this week's round of fixtures top of the league table, while the visitors currently occupy 13th place.

Match preview

Burnley have made a great start under summer managerial appointment Vincent Kompany, currently two points clear of second-placed Blackburn Rovers, and going well in their bid to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

After only picking up six points from their first five Championship games, the Clarets have more than made up for their slow start, now on a run of 16 games without defeat in all competitions, dating back to a 1-0 away loss to Watford in August, Kompany's only defeat as Burnley boss.

A fantastic scoring record has propelled Burnley into automatic promotion contention, netting 32 goals in the Championship this season, four more than any other team, with an impressive 5-1 win at Wigan Athletic, and a 4-2 victory at Sunderland highlighting their potency in front of goal.

Performances like these mean that Kompany's men have the best away record in the division going into this week's Championship games, acquiring a total of 16 points on their travels.

Form at Turf Moor has also been stellar, and the Clarets have had to win games the hard way recently, edging past fellow promotion-hopefuls Norwich City 1-0 last Tuesday night, before coming from behind to beat Reading at the weekend, with a 94th-minute Anass Zaroury strike securing a 2-1 victory.

Rotherham have made a steady start to life back in the Championship, picking up 22 points from 17 league outings, a solid points total for a newly-promoted side, and one that puts them five points clear of the relegation zone.

The Millers were guided back to the second tier by Paul Warne, however the club's long-serving manager left to join League One side Derby County at the end of September, with Exeter City boss Matt Taylor being brought in to replace him.

Taylor has made a decent, if not spectacular start at his new club, acquiring eight points from his seven games in charge, and managing to register two wins in three days earlier this month.

The Millers ran out 2-1 winners against Huddersfield Town at home, before winning 1-0 against all odds away at Stoke City, with their opponents having 12 shots on target, compared to Rotherham's one.

Since then, form has taken a bit of a downward turn, with the defence not quite as impressive in a 4-2 home defeat to Hull City, while the Millers will also be disappointed with a 2-2 draw away at Coventry City, with Richard Wood giving away a stoppage-time penalty which was converted by Viktor Gyokeres to ensure that the spoils were shared.

The performance last time out will also frustrate Taylor, losing 1-0 away at Cardiff City courtesy of a second-half goal from Jaden Philogene-Bidace, with The Millers unable to record a single shot on target throughout the match.

Burnley Championship form:

W

W

D

W

W

W

Rotherham United Championship form:

L

W

W

L

D

L

Team News

Burnley midfielder Josh Cullen has missed the last two games with a knock, after starting all 16 matches prior to the injury, and it is thought that he will not recover in time to be selected on Wednesday.

In his absence, Jack Cork is likely to come back into the team, having missed the game against Reading through suspension, although Samuel Bastien is also an option to partner Josh Brownhill in the middle.

Ashley Westwood has made significant strides to recovery from a broken ankle suffered in a clash against West Ham United in April, and he may feature for the Clarets at some point in November, but this clash will be too early for the 32-year-old.

Manuel Benson came on for Johann Gudmundsson on the hour mark against Reading, and scored within five minutes of being brought on, before assisting Zaroury's late winner, and so Kompany is likely to reward the right-winger with a start.

For the Millers, Chiedozie Ogbene is still missing with a hamstring injury, with fellow Irishman Georgie Kelly instead likely to lead the line, alongside Conor Washington.

Richard Wood has weighed in with four goals and two assists from centre-back this season, the most goal contributions of any Rotherham player, and he is again set to start in a back three, with Lee Peltier and Cameron Humphreys also set to get the nod.

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Muric; Roberts, Harwood-Bellis, Beyer, Maatsen; Brownhill, Cork, Gudmundsson, Tella, Zaroury; Rodriguez

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Peltier, Wood, Harding; Humphreys, Barlaser, Wiles, Rathbone, Bramall; Washington, Kelly

We say: Burnley 3-0 Rotherham United

Burnley should be able to continue their impressive recent form with a fairly routine win against Rotherham United. The Millers have shipped too many goals in recent matches, against weaker sides than Burnley, and we expect the Clarets to put a few past them in this one.

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