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

sportsmole.co.uk, 5 November 2023, 13:40
Ipswich Town will be bidding to move to within one point of Championship leaders Leicester City when they travel to struggling Rotherham United on Tuesday night.

The visitors will enter the contest off the back of a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City on Saturday, while Rotherham played out a 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers on the same afternoon.

Match preview

Rotherham have found it difficult in the opening months of the 2023-24 Championship campaign, boasting a record of two wins, four draws and eight losses from 14 matches, which has left them in 22nd position in the table on 10 points.

Matt Taylor's side had to wait until the end of October to record their second league win of the season, beating Coventry City 2-0 on home soil, but they then lost 2-0 at Sheffield Wednesday four days later.

Rotherham, as mentioned, will enter this clash off the back of a 1-1 draw with QPR, with George Kelly registering in the 70th minute to cancel out an effort from Ilias Chair.

The Millers, who finished 19th in the Championship last season, have only scored 13 times in the league this term, which is the third-worst attacking record behind Sheffield Wednesday (seven) and QPR (11).

Rotherham will now welcome the team with the best attack in the Championship, with Ipswich netting 31 times in their 14 matches, including another two on Saturday afternoon.

Ipswich were actually two goals behind to Birmingham entering the latter stages of their contest at St Andrew's, but Marcus Harness netted twice in the final exchanges to secure a point for Kieran McKenna's side.

The Blues earned promotion from League One last season by finishing second, and they are now bidding to secure a position back in the Premier League.

Ipswich have been absent from the top flight of English football since 2002, so it would be some story if they could secure a return to the first tier for the 2024-25 campaign.

A record of 11 wins, two draws and one defeat from 14 matches has left them in second position in the table, four points behind leaders Leicester with a game in hand.

McKenna's side are seven points ahead of third-placed Leeds United with a game in hand, meanwhile, demonstrating the strength of their position at this stage of the campaign.

Rotherham United Championship form:

L

L

D

W

L

D

Ipswich Town Championship form:

D

W

W

W

W

D

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

L

D

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Team News

Rotherham will again be without the services of six players on Tuesday through injury, with Grant Hall, Andre Green, Tyler Blackett, Cameron Humphreys, Jamie Lindsay and Shane Ferguson on the sidelines.

Head coach Taylor is expected to keep faith with the majority of the side that took to the field for the first whistle against QPR on Saturday afternoon.

However, Kelly's goal off the bench is likely to lead to him being introduced into the XI.

Joe Hugill is the team's leading goalscorer this season with three, and the 31-year-old is again set to lead the line for the side struggling towards the bottom of the division.

As for Ipswich, Harness's late brace off the bench against Birmingham on Saturday is expected to lead to the attacker being introduced into the XI for this match.

Nathan Broadhead is the team's leading goalscorer in the Championship this season with six, and he is again expected to operate in a wide area, with Conor Chaplin potentially moving to the centre-forward role.

Ipswich's squad is in excellent shape at the moment, with no injuries reported ahead of this contest, but McKenna will need to assess the fitness of the players that featured against Birmingham, as it was an energy-zapping contest with Wayne Rooney's side.

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Lembikisa, Morrison, Odoffin, Bramall; Cafu, Tiehi, Rathbone; Onyedinma, Hugill, Kelly

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Hladky; Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Luongo, Morsy; Hutchinson, Harness, Broadhead; Chaplin

We say: Rotherham United 0-1 Ipswich Town

Ipswich saw a four-game winning run in the Championship halted by Birmingham on Saturday, but we are backing them to secure all three points here. Rotherham are capable of making it a tough match, but Ipswich should prove to be too strong for their opponents.

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