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

Following a tough start to the season, the Millers find themselves 23rd in the Championship table with just five points on the board,

while their visitors sit 11th after back-to-back defeats of their own.

Match preview

In their bid to again avoid relegation to League One under Matt Taylor this season, following a pleasing 19th-placed finish last time around, Rotherham United have certainly had to endure a difficult start to the new Championship campaign, currently finding themselves on just five points from their opening nine matches.

After their first four outings produced just a single point, coming from a 2-2 draw with Blackburn Rovers in which they initially led 2-0, the Yorkshire outfit were able to put their first victory on the board at the fifth time of asking prior to the international break, beating Norwich City 2-1 at the New York Stadium courtesy of goals from Dexter Lembikisa and Jordan Hugill.

They have been unable to pick up where they left off since returning to action in mid-September though and now head into Wednesday's contest on the back of another four-match winless run in England's second tier, firstly suffering 2-0 and 3-0 defeats away at Huddersfield Town and Millwall.

Taylor's men would then take their points tally to five with a more commendable result, holding league leaders Preston North End to a 1-1 draw in South Yorkshire and ending their six-match winning run, thanks to Hugill's opener, only to suffer a sixth league defeat of the campaign at the weekend in a trip to Cardiff City, as Kion Etete and Perry Ng scored second-half goals in a 2-0 home triumph in South Wales.

Now sitting 23rd in the Championship after nine outings with a three-point gap up to 21st-placed Middlesbrough and 22nd-placed Queens Park Rangers already, the Millers will aim to make a return to winning ways on their home patch on Wednesday to ensure they are not cut adrift in the fight for survival.

They welcome a Bristol City side who are fighting to bounce back from a pair of defeats of their own after enjoying a strong start to the Championship season under the management of Nigel Pearson.

From their opening seven outings, the Robins earned three victories and 12 points, heading into the international break on the back of a 2-1 victory away at Swansea City, having come from behind to take all three points through Mark Sykes and Sam Bell.

They returned to action at home to West Bromwich Albion and took another point from a goalless draw before hosting Plymouth Argyle and dishing out a 4-1 beating as Bell and Sykes were again on the scoresheet alongside Matty James and Harry Cornick, but Pearson's men would then suffer their second and third defeats of the campaign in their last two outings, firstly falling short away at leaders Leicester City as Jamie Vardy hit the only goal of the game from the penalty spot 23 minutes from time.

Aiming to quickly bounce back, the Robins most recently welcomed Stoke City to Ashton Gate on Saturday and enjoyed an ideal start as they went two goals up through Bell and Nakhi Wells, but the visitors drew level through Mehdi Leris and Sead Haksabanovic before Nathan Lowe popped up in the 89th minute to snatch all three points for the Potters.

Such a result saw Bristol City drop to 11th spot in the Championship, but with just a one-point gap up to eighth place at this early stage of the campaign, they will hope to bounce back on Wednesday with a fourth three-point haul of the term.

Rotherham United Championship form:

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Rotherham United form (all competitions):

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Bristol City Championship form:

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Bristol City form (all competitions):

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Team News

Rotherham United continue to deal with a long list of injuries, as defenders Grant Hall, Sean Morrison and Cameron Humphreys are sidelined alongside Shane Ferguson and midfielders Cafu and Jamie Lindsay.

In their absences, Taylor switched to a back three containing ever-present Tyler Blackett and full-backs Dexter Lembikisa and Cohen Bramall, however Lee Peltier's return will ease their selection concerns slightly, and he could come back in from the outset after appearing off the bench away at Cardiff last time out.

Further forward, Oliver Rathbone should again be joined by summer signings Sam Clucas and Christ Tiehi in the engine room, while Jordan Hugill will again lead the line whether a front three of strike pairing is deployed, with Sam Nombe fighting to come in from the start after Andre Green was preferred at the weekend.

Bristol City could line up with an unchanged starting XI from the weekend's defeat to Stoke City in their usual 4-3-3 shape, with Rob Atkinson, Zak Vyner and Ross McCrorie remaining sidelined by injuries.

There is plenty of competition in attack, with Harry Cornick, Tommy Conway and Andreas Weimann all vying to come in from the outset, although Nakhi Wells should continue to lead the line after his goal on Saturday, while Sam Bell is bound to again star on the left wing, having netted three goals in their last five league outings to take his tally to four for the season.

Joe Williams, Matty James and Jason Knight should line up in an unaltered midfield trio, while Kal Naismith and Rob Dickie will continue to partner up in the middle of the defence in the ongoing absence of Atkinson and Vyner.

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Lembikisa, Blackett, Peltier; Onyedinma, Clucas, Tiehi, Rathbone, Bramall; Nombe, Hugill

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

O'Leary; Tanner, Naismith, Dickie, Pring; Williams, James, Knight; Sykes, Wells, Bell

We say: Rotherham United 1-2 Bristol City

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