Two sides who find themselves at opposite ends of the Championship table after seven rounds of games will do battle at the New York Stadium on Saturday, as Rotherham United entertain Preston North End.
The visitors currently top the division, having gone unbeaten and picked up six victories thus far, while their hosts only have four points on the board following their latest defeat on Wednesday.
Match preview
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After a positive season last time around, in which they preserved their Championship status by finishing 19th with 50 points, Rotherham headed into the new term under the management of Matt Taylor with their focus again set on survival, but they have had to endure a tough start in England's second tier.
In their seven outings thus far, the Millers have managed just four points, having started with defeats to Stoke City, Leicester City and Sunderland around their only point at that time - a 2-2 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers in which they were pegged back after leading 2-0 through Hakeem Odoffin and Fred Onyedinma.
Aiming to add to their single point, the South Yorkshire outfit would successfully record a first league victory of the campaign prior to the recent international break, beating Norwich City 2-1 on home turf thanks to goals from Dexter Lembikisa and Jordan Hugill, before returning to action away in an important contest away at Huddersfield Town last weekend and suffering a disappointing 2-0 defeat as Josh Koroma and Sorba Thomas found the net for the hosts.
Taylor's men then most recently faced a tough trip to Millwall on Wednesday, in their bid to rebound from the weekend defeat and improve their standing at this early stage of the Championship campaign, but they suffered another setback, being thrashed 3-0 at The Den with Ryan Longman opening the scoring in the first half and Zian Flemming and Tom Bradshaw adding goals after the interval.
Following two further defeats in the last week, the Millers now find themselves 21st in the second tier, only leading Swansea City, Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough, the only three sides with winless league records this term, and they will be desperate to correct their form and avoid being cut adrift in the coming weeks with a victory on home turf on Saturday.
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That will certainly be no easy task, though, as Preston North End arrive looking to strengthen their position at the top of the table and extend their winless start to the new campaign under Ryan Lowe.
Following their 12th-placed finish last time around, having only dropped out of contention in the final matches following a dismal end to the term, the Lilywhites played out a 1-1 draw away at Bristol City in their league curtain-raiser in early August and have since won each of their other six Championship outings, firstly seeing off Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City in triumphs by one-goal margins.
They then carried the strong record into the international break with a 2-0 beating of Stoke City, thanks to Will Keane's brace early in the second half, and Lowe's men would pick up where they left off on their return to action, handing a 2-1 defeat to the manager's former side Plymouth Argyle at Deepdale last weekend courtesy of first-half goals from Duane Holmes and Liam Millar.
Aiming to continue their fine run and make it six second-tier wins on the bounce, the Lancashire outfit most recently hosted Birmingham City on Tuesday, and after going behind to Jay Stansfield's 46th-minute opener, they quickly drew level through a Krystian Bielik own goal, before Milutin Osmajic netted their decisive goal in a 2-1 win 23 minutes from time.
Now boasting the Championship's joint-second strongest ever start to a campaign, with 19 points on the board having only slipped in their opening-day draw, Preston will look to keep building momentum with a seventh straight triumph on Saturday to further strengthen their position in the leading pack.
Team News
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Rotherham United head into the weekend with an unenviable injury list, particularly regarding their defensive ranks, as experienced centre-backs Sean Morrison and Grant Hall are confined to the treatment room alongside Lee Peltier, while Cohen Bramall was a fresh concern for the Millwall trip after picking up a knock in their defeat to Huddersfield.
Given those absentees, and if Taylor opts to switch back to his preferred 4-3-3 shape at the New York Stadium, Sebastian Revan should deputise on the left-hand side of a back four, with Dexter Lembikisa continuing in his right-back role and Tyler Blackett and Cameron Humphreys partnering up in the centre.
With midfielders Cafu and Jamie Lindsay also ruled out through injury, new signing Sam Clucas will likely earn his second start for the club in midfield alongside Oliver Rathbone and fellow summer arrival Christ Tiehi, while Jordan Hugill will continue to lead the line with Fred Onyedinma and Sam Nombe set to join him up top.
After their sixth straight league win in midweek, Ryan Lowe has little reason to make many changes to his Preston North End starting XI on Saturday, with key attacker Will Keane not yet ready to return to action after picking up an injury on international duty, while fellow strikers Ched Evans and Emil Riis remain sidelined.
In their absences, summer signing Milutin Osmajic will continue to lead the line, having scored his first goal for the club last time out, with Duane Holmes and captain Alan Browne again set to play in support of the lone striker, while fellow new arrival Liam Millar will look to cause further problems from a left wing-back role, having scored and assisted in their 2-1 victory over Plymouth last weekend.
Behind the midfield pairing of Ryan Ledson and Ali McCann, which should remain unchanged despite Ben Whiteman's return to full fitness, there is competition in the back three with Jack Whatmough and Andrew Hughes fighting to join Liam Lindsay and Jordan Storey, and the former was given the nod on Wednesday before making way for Hughes early in the second half.
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Lembikisa, Humphreys, Blackett, Revan; Rathbone, Tiehi, Clucas; Onyedinma, Hugill, Nombe
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Lindsay, Whatmough, Storey; Potts, McCann, Ledson, Millar; Browne, Holmes; Osmajic
We say: Rotherham United 0-2 Preston North End
Rotherham United certainly have the ability to be competitive and cause sides problems, more so than their recent results suggest and particularly on home turf, but Preston travel to South Yorkshire full of confidence and with momentum on their side, and we can only envisage them continuing their fine run and seeing off the struggling Millers.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
