Rotherham United and Birmingham City square off on Sunday afternoon with the opportunity to take a significant step forward in their bid to avoid relegation from the Championship.
While Blues currently sit six points clear of the bottom three, Rotherham will halve the gap between themselves and their next opponents with victory at the New York Stadium.
Match preview
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With three games having been played in less than a week, Rotherham boss Paul Warne will be relatively content with claiming four points during that period.
Nevertheless, the Millers could ill-afford to lose to Coventry City, and their 1-0 reverse to the Sky Blues has made it increasingly difficult to avoid the drop.
Still possessing two fixtures in hand, Warne will not panic at this stage, but there is now a greater need to get maximum points from Sunday's encounter.
On a positive note, taking advantage of their extra matches will currently take Rotherham into 18th position, a scenario which keeps the pressure on the teams above them.
With all three of Rotherham's goals against Queens Park Rangers coming after the break, they have now failed to score in nine of their last 10 halves of football.
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Birmingham's record in the final third is also nothing to brag about with just five goals being scored in as many games since the arrival of Lee Bowyer.
However, the former Charlton Athletic boss has delivered 10 points, a return which has left Blues on the brink of securing their second tier status for another 12 months.
Defeat on Sunday would change the mood at St Andrew's, but Bowyer will feel that his well-rested squad are in the ideal position to outlast their hosts.
Three of Lukas Jutkiewicz's five goals this season have come since Bowyer's appointment with his double proving decisive in last weekend's game against Stoke City.
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Team News
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Bowyer will be forced into at least one change with Alen Halilovic having been ruled out through injury.
With Jonathan Leko's place also in doubt, Ivan Sanchez and Riley McGree could both be handed recalls.
George Friend may also be brought into the team as a replacement for Steve Seddon at left wing-back.
Warne will almost certainly bring fresh legs into the Rotherham side with Ryan Giles and Freddie Ladapo expected to be recalled to the starting lineup.
Daniel Barlaser should also feature after remaining as an unused substitute on Thursday night.
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Ihiekwe, MacDonald, Wood; Harding, Wiles, Barlaser, Wing, Giles; Smith, Ladapo
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Dean, Roberts, Pedersen; Colin, Sunjic, Gardner, Friend; Sanchez, McGree; Jutkiewicz
We say: Rotherham United 1-1 Birmingham City
Aware of the consequences of defeat, Rotherham are unlikely to come out firing on all cylinders on Sunday. Nevertheless, the Blues will be more than happy with a share of the spoils, leading us to predict a low-scoring draw.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rotherham United win with a probability of 40.04%. A win for Birmingham City had a probability of 31.32% and a draw had a probability of 28.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rotherham United win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.81%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.03%) and 2-0 (7.76%). The likeliest Birmingham City win was 0-1 (10.96%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.26%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 11% likelihood.
