A key battle at the bottom end of the Championship table will take place at the New York Stadium on Saturday, as Rotherham United entertain Queens Park Rangers.
The hosts have built a small cushion over the relegation zone thanks to a victory and a draw in their last two league outings, while the visitors will hope to earn their first points under the new management of Gareth Ainsworth on the back of four straight second-tier defeats.
Match preview
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Rotherham United head into the weekend hoping to continue their upturn in form in the fight for Championship survival, after enduring a tough run following the World Cup break with just one win and seven points coming from the first 11 games after the return to action in December.
That singular victory came in a 4-0 thrashing of Blackburn Rovers at home in mid-January, and after building on that result with a run of draws against Watford, Sheffield United and Blackpool, Matthew Taylor's side would go on to suffer back-to-back defeats at the hands of Reading and Coventry City.
After those results left the Millers on 33 points from 32 league outings and in the midst of a battle at the bottom end of England's second tier, they returned to action at home to Sunderland on Tuesday, and the hosts managed to put a crucial three-point haul on the board in a 2-1 triumph, as Oliver Rathbone and Shane Ferguson got on the scoresheet before the South Yorkshire outfit stood strong to see out the victory following Joe Gelhardt's goal for the visitors on the hour mark.
On the back of that result, Taylor's men most recently made the long trip to take on Swansea City on Monday, and after going behind to Joel Piroe's goal on the stroke of half time, they would draw level through Chiedozie Ogbene in the 52nd minute and return home with another valuable point.
Now with some renewed confidence in the camp, having moved onto 37 points with a six-point lead over the drop zone heading into the final 12 matches of the season, Rotherham will look to further strengthen their position in the fight for survival with what would be their ninth Championship win of the campaign and their seventh at the New York Stadium.
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They meet a Queens Park Rangers side who are in desperate need of a result to turn their form around, having quickly dropped into the battle at the bottom end of the league as a result of their poor form since before the World Cup break.
Neil Critchley took over in mid-December with the R's already winless in six league outings, and although his tenure began with a 1-0 triumph at Preston North End, he was unable to oversee another three-point haul in his time in London, with just five points coming from his remaining 10 second-tier matches in charge as a 3-1 defeat away at Middlesbrough triggered the departure.
QPR would then turn to Gareth Ainsworth, who began his stint in the hot seat last weekend at home to Blackburn Rovers, and the new boss was unable to inspire an immediate turn in form, despite Tim Iroegbunam drawing them level in the 24th minute, as Sam Gallagher went on to hit his second goal of the match alongside a Sammie Szmodics finish in a 3-1 away triumph.
After their positive start to the campaign, Queens Park Rangers' poor form in recent months has seen them quickly drop down the Championship table, and they now find themselves in 18th spot, just two points better off than Saturday's hosts and eight points above the drop zone.
Ainsworth will now look to secure his first three points at the second time of asking, with the R's desperate to turn their form around in the final months of the campaign to avoid being dragged any further into a relegation scrap.
Team News
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Rotherham United are contending with several injury issues, as experienced defenders Grant Hall and Sean Morrison remain sidelined alongside key midfielder Ben Wiles and January arrival Domingos Quina.
Given those absences, Bailey Wright should again join Cameron Humphreys in the middle of a back four with Lee Peltier and Leo Hjelde operating as full-backs, while Oliver Rathbone is a key man in midfield and will again don the captain's armband.
Jordan Hugill will likely continue to spearhead the attack, with wide threat coming from Brentford loanee Tariqe Fosu and Chiedozie Ogbene, who leads the Millers' scoring charts this term having netted his seventh Championship goal of the season in the draw with Swansea.
QPR are dealing with several enforced absentees of their own, with key attacker Chris Willock confined to the treatment room alongside defenders Jake Clarke-Salter, Leon Balogun and Ethan Laird and forward Lyndon Dykes, while fellow danger man Ilias Chair was also forced off in the first half of the Blackburn contest and will likely miss out at the weekend.
Without Chair and Willock, Albert Adomah and January arrival Jamal Lowe should operate on the flanks in a front three either side of Chris Martin, who scored on his R's debut in mid-February and continues his search for a second goal for the club.
Tim Iroegbunam, Stefan Johansen and Sam Field are all bound to keep their places in midfield, while Rob Dickie and Jimmy Dunne should continue to partner up in the middle of the back four in front of Seny Dieng between the sticks.
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Peltier, Wright, Humphreys, Hjelde; Coventry, Rathbone, Ferguson; Ogbene, Hugill, Fosu
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Kakay, Dickie, Dunne, Paal; Iroegbunam, Field, Johansen; Lowe, Martin, Adomah
We say: Rotherham United 2-1 Queens Park Rangers
QPR are lacking any real confidence and missing several key players, and even though Ainsworth will hope to lift his new side with a much-needed result, we see them falling short away at a Rotherham side who have impressed in South Yorkshire this term.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
