Preview: Rotherham United vs. Cheltenham Town – prediction, team news, lineups

Rotherham United will welcome Cheltenham Town to the New York Stadium on Saturday for an FA Cup first-round tie.

The two teams last met in League One in the 2021-22 campaign with the hosts completing a double, while their visitors now sit 16th in England’s fourth tier.

Match preview

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Rotherham United kick off their FA Cup campaign on Saturday in search of a first win in the competition since 2021, when they progressed to the third round by beating Bromley and Stockport County.

In their two-year stay in the Championship, the Millers entered the competition in the third round in the last two seasons and dropped out in away trips to Ipswich Town and Fulham, losing 1-0 against the latter in January as Bobby De Cordova-Reid netted the only goal.

On their return to England’s third tier, the South Yorkshire outfit have had somewhat of an underwhelming start, currently sitting 14th having earned 17 points from their first 14 outings and already trailing the playoff spots by six points as a result.

It is in attack where Steve Evans‘s team have struggled thus far, with only one team outside of the bottom six having scored fewer than their 14 goals, although they were able to end a three-match winless streak at home to Stevenage last weekend, as Jordan Hugill and Mallik Wilks netted goals in the final 20 minutes to seal a 2-0 triumph.

Aiming to build an improved run on the back of that result, Rotherham United will now bid to make it three straight wins over Saturday’s visitors to book their second-round spot before travelling to Yorkshire rivals Barnsley for an important league contest next Friday.

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Cheltenham Town, similarly, head to the New York Stadium on Saturday aiming to end a near-three-year wait for an FA Cup victory, having fallen short at this stage in the previous two seasons.

The Robins’ 2022-23 campaign was ended in the first round in a home defeat to non-league Alvechurch, before they visited AFC Wimbledon last November and suffered a 5-1 thrashing, with Rob Street‘s 76th-minute goal nothing more than a consolation after they had fallen five behind at Plough Lane.

That season also ended in relegation to League Two, and under the new management of Michael Flynn, they have experienced a tough start to life back in England’s fourth tier but head into the weekend in the midst of a pleasing run.

The Robins have now won three and drawn one of their last four matches, picking up away victories over Colchester United and Carlisle United either side of a stalemate with Bradford City, before most recently hosting West Ham United Under-21s in an EFL Trophy group tie on Tuesday and winning 3-1 with Liam Dulson, Matt Taylor and Tom King on the scoresheet.

Cheltenham Town will now aim to make it five games unbeaten and take a major scalp in South Yorkshire to progress to the second round on Saturday.

Rotherham United form (all competitions):

Cheltenham Town form (all competitions):

Team News

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With the need to put a winning run together and build momentum, Steve Evans should field a strong Rotherham United starting XI for Saturday’s cup tie, and defender Sean Raggett and midfielder Liam Kelly are likely to earn starts after returning from injury layoffs.

Raggett could join Zak Jules at the heart of a back four, affording a rest for Cameron Humphreys with Jamie McCart likely remaining out of action.

Elsewhere, Jordan Hugill should come into the attack from the start after his goal off the bench last time out, likely joining Sam Nombe and danger man Mallik Wilks in the attack in the absence of front man Jonson Clarke-Harris.

Michael Flynn should field a similar Cheltenham Town side from last weekend’s victory over Carlisle United, although Matt Taylor, Liam Dulson and Tom King all laid claims to start in attack with goals in their 3-1 victory over West Ham United Under-21s on Tuesday.

Sam Stubbs, Scot Bennett and Tom Bradbury should all return in a back three, while Luke Young and Liam Kinsella will hope to regain their midfield spots despite competition from Tom Pett, Harrison Sohna and Joel Colwill.

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Rafferty, Raggett, Jules, Bramall; Odoffin, Kelly, Powell; Wilks; Hugill, Nombe

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:
Day; Stubbs, Bennett, Bradbury; Payne, Young, Colwill, Sohna; Archer, Miller, Taylor

We say: Rotherham United 2-0 Cheltenham Town

Even despite their struggles so far this season, particularly going forward, Rotherham United should have too much for their fourth-tier visitors on Saturday, and we can only see the Millers progressing in relatively comfortable fashion.

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