Top meets bottom in the Championship as Brighton & Hove Albion face off against Rotherham United at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday.
The Seagulls' victory over Hull City moved them four points clear at the summit, while the Millers' draw with Charlton Athletic was not enough to lift them off the foot of the table.
Brighton
© Getty Images
Chris Hughton's men have enjoyed an excellent start to their campaign, dropping just two points in their six matches to leave them top of the league on 16 points.
The Seagulls have won five of their six matches in the Championship this season, only failing to beat Huddersfield Town in a game that ended 1-1.
Brighton have overcome promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town and Hull City in their last two matches, courtesy of 3-2 and 1-0 victories. The manner of the wins will please Hughton as his side have secured the three points this season in a variety of ways.
The team have shown the capacity to be resilient at the back and dangerous in the final third when they have needed to be. The Seagulls have kept three clean sheets in the campaign, all of which have resulted in 1-0 wins for the club, including last time out against the Tigers.
Tomer Hemed has been in fine form for Brighton this season as he has notched four of his side's nine goals, including three in his last two matches in the vital wins over Hull and Ipswich. Hughton's men have not been prolific in front of goal, but have been clinical in the crucial moments.
The Seagulls have won all three of their matches at the Amex Stadium without conceding a goal, and they will be determined to keep their 100% record at home to continue their impressive start to the campaign.
Recent form: WWDWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WDWLWW
Rotherham
© Getty Images
Steve Evans's side have endured a miserable start to the campaign as they have collected just two points from their opening six matches.
The Millers' draw with Charlton ended a run of back-to-back defeats to Queens Park Rangers and Fulham, but Evans's men are already finding themselves in a battle at the foot of the table.
Their performance at The Valley may give them hope that they can rally together a run of results to build a platform to lift themselves out of the bottom three, although the task at hand looks extremely tough for Evans and his men.
Rotherham's struggles have emanated at the back where they have conceded the joint-highest number of goals in the Championship with 14 in their six games, shipping four strikes twice in their defeats to the MK Dons and QPR.
Evans's men have scored six goals in the campaign, but are lacking a prominent goalscorer as Jonson Clarke-Harris leads the way with two goals.
The Millers need to find a way to find the net in their upcoming fixtures without comprising themselves at the back to ease the pressure on their manager. However, they may find life extremely difficult at the Amex Stadium to get themselves on track in their campaign.
Recent form: LLDLLD
Recent form (all competitions): LDLLLD
Team News
© Getty Images
Hughton has no new injury worries for the clash at the Amex Stadium as his squad continue to avoid the treatment table at the start of the campaign.
Bobby Zamora could push for a starting place to keep the legs of Sam Baldock and Hemed fresh for their upcoming matches, but Hughton is likely to stick with the same starting lineup that beat Hull.
Rotherham captain Lee Frecklington could miss the match due to a calf injury he sustained in the draw against Charlton at the weekend.
Paul Green is likely to replace the midfielder in the starting lineup, with Christopher Maguire also an option for Evans.
Brighton possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; Bruno, Greer, Hunemeier, Bong; Rosenior, Stephens, Kayal, LuaLua; Hemed, Baldock
Rotherham possible starting lineup:
Camp; Buxton, Rawson, Collins, Mattock; Green, Smallwood, Newell, Odjidja-Ofoe, Andreu, Clarke-Harris
Head To Head
Matt Derbyshire scored the only goal of the game to fire the Millers to a 1-0 victory over Brighton in their last meeting in the last campaign.
The previous clash at the Amex Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw as Alex Revell scored a second-half equaliser after Joe Bennett put the Seagulls ahead.
Over the course of history, the two sides are equal in victories with both having won 16 contests each, while 15 of the matches have ended in draws.
We say: Brighton 3-0 Rotherham
Brighton have been in impressive form this season and have been outstanding at the Amex Stadium, so Hughton's men should be able to pick up their sixth win of the campaign against Evans's struggling side.
Simon Sinclair
