Rochdale and Stockport County are separated by 18 spots in the League Two table going into Tuesday's meeting at the Crown Oil Arena.

The cellar-dwelling hosts were beaten 2-0 by fellow relegation-threatened side Gillingham on Saturday, while promotion-chasing Stockport got the better of second-placed Stevenage for their fourth win on the trot.

Match preview

Jim Bentley went into Rochdale's encounter looking to suck Gillingham further into a relegation battle but a 2-0 defeat at the Crown Oil Arena saw the visiting side move nine points clear of the bottom side in League Two.

Oliver Hawkins and George Lapslie scored the goals to prevent Dale from ending the gameweek three points adrift of the Gills.

The upshot of Saturday's reverse leaves Bentley's men six points from safety in League Two, having been defeated in four of their last five games.

No team in the league has lost more than Rochdale's 21, while their inability to keep clean sheets continues to be a bugbear, with only 22nd-place Hartlepool — who have conceded 58 goals — letting in more goals than the bottom club's 49.

Their only win in 2023 came in a 2-1 success at Bradford City, a result that has not turned out to be the fillip supporters of the club desired.

Goals are in short supply, with only seven coming in their 10 fixtures of 2023 and 14 goals conceded since the turn of the year is a worse return than all but one side in the division.

Rochdale's two wins from 19 League Two fixtures suggest they face an uphill task against Stockport on Tuesday.

If the situation looks dire for this week's hosts, the visitors' run of results could not be more different.

Dave Challinor guided the Hatters to promotion from the National League in May 2022, and the Chester-born manager could win back-to-back promotions for the club at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Stockport secured a potentially colossal 2-0 success over Stevenage at the weekend, thus closing the gap on the side in second to six points, albeit having played a game more.

Will Collar was decisive for the hosts on the day, scoring after 34 minutes and assisting Ryan Rydel's late strike in second-half stoppage time to put paid to any prospects of a Stevenage equaliser.

Indeed, Challinor's team look to have momentum in the battle to end in the top three owing to their impressive form in recent weeks, which leaves them just four points off the final automatic promotion spot, a position occupied by Carlisle United.

The Hatters have picked up 13 points from an available 15 in their last five games, a joint-best haul along with high-flying champions-elect Leyton Orient and fifth-placed Mansfield. All three sides occupy spots in the league's top six.

Stockport's 2023 form is bettered by only Colchester United, whose 18 points outdoes the former by one, although they have played a game more than the sixth-placed side's nine since the start of the year.

That run makes the away side huge favourites to extend their unbeaten sequence to six, at the expense of a side that have not tasted success in their last seven league games, with six defeats suffered in that wretched run.

Tuesday's meeting would be the first between the clubs this season, as the encounter on December 10 had to be postponed due to a frozen pitch at the Crown Oil Arena.

Team News

Bentley has utilised several variations of a back four and back three this term, but the Rochdale boss has leaned mostly on a 3-4-3 since mid-January.

First-choice goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell was replaced just before the interlude on Saturday, and Tuesday could come too soon for the 34-year-old custodian. Jake Eastwood should deputise for the goaltender.

Dale will depend on Ian Henderson for goals, even if the top-scoring 38-year-old has netted just once in his last seven outings.

Challinor could name an unchanged Stockport side for the fourth game running, with injuries hitting the in-form team in recent weeks.

Captain Paddy Madden has missed the last three games and is not expected to feature, while Macauley Southam-Hales, Phil Bardsley, Antoni Sarcevic and Aaron Rowe are unlikely to play.

Fraser Horsfall returned to first-team training last Thursday and may return to the squad.

Rochdale possible starting lineup:
Eastwood; Mullarkey, Bennett, Taylor; Lloyd, Keohane, Diagouraga, Dodgson; Henderson, Quigley, Odoh

Stockport County possible starting lineup:
Hinchliffe; Wright, Byrne, Hussey; Knoyle, Collar, Croasdale, Camps, Hippolyte; Madden, Olaofe

We say: Rochdale 1-2 Stockport County

Stockport are favourites to extend their unbeaten run against a Rochdale side in dire straits, with success extending their ongoing sequence to six without losing.

That said, Dale are seldom disgraced despite their winless run of results and recently gave everything against table-topping Leyton Orient in a 2-1 defeat.

The promotion-chasing side ought to win, but it will not be a walk in the park.

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