Rotherham vs Stoke prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-12-25 15:00.
Itās safe to say the Championshipās resumption hasnāt gone well for Rotherham, as the Millers have lost both of their games whilst conceding three goals in each. Manager Matt Taylor described all six of those strikes as āpreventableā in the wake of their 3-0 loss to West Brom, lamenting his sideās lack of ādefensive rhythmā.
Taylor will need to get his players in the groove sooner rather than later, with Rotherham now just two points clear of the relegation zone at Christmas. The Millers have suffered an alarming slump in form since the new managerās arrival, winning just one of their last nine matches (D2, L6), as early season hopes of a play-off push are now a very distant memory.
Stoke might be the perfect visitors then as they havenāt won an away H2H since 1993 (D3, L3 following). Despite that record, the Potters are bound to be confident after enjoying an unbeaten restart to the season (W1, D1), most recently coming from behind to win 2-1 against Bristol City. Assistant manager Martin Canning praised his players for ādigging deepā to claim the three points as his side continued to push away from danger, with a five-point gap now separating Stoke from the bottom three.
The Potters can be considered one of the Championshipās leading sides on the road too, with only Preston and Sheffield United managing more wins away from home than Stokeās five. The omens arenāt all good though having won their last road trip, as each of their previous two away wins have been followed by a loss, so Alex Neilās men will need to proceed with caution here.
Players to watch: Looking to reclaim his place in the Rotherham team will be Oliver Rathbone, who scored the winner in Octoberās reverse fixture inside the opening ten minutes – in fact his last nine goals have all come as Rotherhamās first scorer! Liam Delap is a likely starter for Stoke as heās found his shooting boots since the restart, netting before half-time in his last two games.
Hot stat: Rotherham have scored 69% of their Championship goals before half-time this season.