Rotherham vs Sunderland prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-02-20 19:45.
Manager Matt Taylor hopes his Rotherham players can use the “injustice” of Saturday’s defeat to Coventry as motivation to turn their form around. The Millers boss was furious at Jordan Hugill having an early goal disallowed as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat, their fifth game without a victory (D3, L2).
Hugill’s strike being ruled out was particularly costly to Rotherham given their lack of goals of late, as they have now netted just once in their last four outings, including successive goalless fixtures at the New York Stadium. Such form means they have slipped perilously close to the Championship relegation zone, not helped by worryingly losing five of their last ten outings on home soil (W2, D3).
Visitors Sunderland are therefore probably the last team supporters want to see rocking up in South Yorkshire, given the Black Cats have lost just one of the last 17 H2H meetings between the two teams (W10, D6). One of those victories was a 3-0 drubbing in Tony Mowbray’s first game in charge back in August, and the Scot has now picked up 11 league wins (D8, L7) since taking charge at the Stadium of Light, guiding the club into the play-off positions in the process.
That means fans are dreaming of a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2017, although they were left frustrated by conceding a 90th minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Bristol City at the weekend. Mowbray was not too down on his players though, admitting he was happy with their haul of seven points from three games after beating Reading and QPR in the previous week.
Players to watch: Rotherham forward Conor Washington is unbeaten in his last 14 goalscoring league appearances (W10, D4), including a 4-0 demolition of Blackburn in January, the Millers’ most recent victory. Sunderland’s Jack Clarke is unbeaten in four H2H clashes with Rotherham (W2, D2), including when scoring in the Black Cats’ victory earlier in the season.
Hot stat: Rotherham have only scored 12 second-half league goals this season, the lowest total in the Championship.