Two teams battling to end dismal runs of form will do battle at the New York Stadium on Saturday, as Rotherham United entertain Watford.
The hosts find themselves rooted to the foot of the Championship table, 14 points adrift of safety, while their visitors now trail the playoff places by seven points in the midst of a growing winless run.
Match preview
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In their bid to again avoid relegation in the Championship this season, Rotherham United find themselves in an increasingly desperate position at the bottom of England's second tier, now sitting 24th with just 19 points on the board from their 31 matches thus far.
Following Matt Taylor's departure, Leam Richardson arrived at the New York Stadium to lead the Millers' survival bid in mid-December, but he has been unable to inspire a change in fortunes, having now overseen 11 league outings which have produced just six points.
The lone league victory of Richardson's tenure thus far came at home to Middlesbrough on Boxing Day, and after then picking up draws against Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough again in the following four-match span, they have slipped into another tough run in recent weeks, now heading into the weekend on the back of three straight defeats.
That comes amidst a tough run of fixtures for the Millers, who firstly fell in to defeats to promotion-chasers Southampton and Leeds United, before they most recently hosted Hull City on Tuesday and suffered a 2-1 loss, despite leading until the final 20 minutes through Christ Tiehi, as Jaden Philogene levelled the scores with help from a Cameron Humphreys deflection before Noah Ohio netted the decisive goal to turn the game on its head.
Now with just 15 games left to play this term, albeit one more than five sides above them, Rotherham United find themselves seven points behind 23rd-placed Sheffield Wednesday and 14 points adrift of safety, and they will feel they are quickly running out of time to produce a miracle and avoid the drop and will be desperate to return to winning ways on Saturday to begin reducing that gap.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, will also set out to end a tough run of form which has seen them lose ground of their own in a different fight at the other end of the division.
Following the summer appointment of Valerien Ismael, Watford set out to earn a playoff place in the Championship this term, and thanks to a steady improvement, they sat in a promising position in mid-January as a victory over Queens Park Rangers left them on 39 points from 27 second-tier outings.
They have been unable to improve on that standing since, though, firstly playing out back-to-back draws with Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday, stretching an unbeaten streak to five games, only to suffer three straight defeats heading into the weekend.
The Hornets firstly welcomed Cardiff City and Leicester City to Vicarage Road and left empty-handed on both occasions following 1-0 and 2-1 losses respectively, before most recently travelling to playoff-chasing Norwich City and suffering a 4-2 defeat, despite drawing level at two goals apiece with 20 minutes to go through Mileta Rajovic and Yaser Asprilla, as Gabriel Sara and Christian Fassnacht went on to restore the hosts' lead.
As a result of their poor run in recent weeks, Watford now find themselves six places and seven points back from the top six and will be keen to remain in the fight and regain some ground with a much-needed return to winning ways when they travel to the division's basement side on Saturday.
Team News
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As has been the case for the majority of the season thus far, Rotherham United continue to deal with a long list of injuries, as defenders Grant Hall, Tyler Blackett, Daniel Ayala and Cohen Bramall remain sidelined alongside Shane Ferguson and Andre Green.
Leam Richardson does still have options at the back, though, and Sean Morrison could return to the middle of the defence from the start after only featuring off the bench in midweek, with Hakeem Odoffin, Lee Peltier and Cameron Humphreys having been preferred, while Cafu could come back into the midfield in place of Oliver Rathbone with Andy Rinomhota also fighting for a spot.
At the top end of the pitch, January arrival Charlie Wyke was preferred alongside Sam Nombe against Hull, and Jordan Hugill will fight to return from the outset up front.
Watford have several absences of their own to contend with, as Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Jeremy Ngakia are ruled out due to injury issues, while defender Ryan Porteous will serve a suspension for an accumulation of 10 league yellow cards.
In Porteous's place, Mattie Pollock will likely come in to join Wesley Hoedt at the heart of a back four, while Edo Kayembe is an option in midfield having returned from an injury layoff, after Giorgi Chakvetadze, Ismael Kone and Jake Livermore were preferred in the centre against Norwich.
After scoring in their eventual midweek defeat, Mileta Rajovic will hope to again lead the line, although Yaser Asprilla will also contend to start up front after his goal off the bench, while January arrival Emmanuel Dennis will also bid for a starting berth in their front three having made four substitute appearances since returning to the club on loan and opening his account with a goal in their 2-1 defeat to Leicester.
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Kioso, Peltier, Morrison, Humphreys, Revan; Cafu, Tiehi, Clucas; Hugill, Nombe
Watford possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Dele-Bashiru, Hoedt, Pollock, Lewis; Kone, Livermore, Chakvetadze; Asprilla, Rajovic, Dennis
We say: Rotherham United 1-3 Watford
While Watford are far from their best and lacking any momentum, they do still have plenty of quality in their ranks and should fancy themselves to see off a struggling Rotherham outfit.
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Sam Varley
