Rotherham United will look to strengthen their position at the top of the League One standings on Tuesday evening when they take on Shrewsbury Town.
While the Millers have moved clear of the chasing pack in search of promotion, the home side's victory over Burton Albion at the weekend created distance between themselves and the relegation zone.
Match preview
Having failed to score more than two goals in any of their last six matches, Rotherham have not been producing the kind of performances which you would usually associate with runaway leaders.
Nevertheless, they are collecting the results of champions-elect, and Paul Warne and his players will take satisfaction from how they continue to grind out results to move closer to a return to the Championship.
Michael Smith netted his 18th league goal of the campaign at the weekend as the Millers edged out playoff hopefuls Plymouth Argyle by a 1-0 scoreline, taking his tally to four strikes in nine outings since January 22.
On the face of it, there is nothing spectacular about that return, but the 30-year-old has completed the 90 minutes on all nine occasions, leading from the front while his defensive teammates do their bit at the other end of the pitch.
Ahead of trying to extend their winning streak on the road to six matches, Rotherham have kept clean sheets in eight of their last nine third-tier fixtures.
A five-match unbeaten streak either side of the new year helped Shrewsbury move away from the relegation zone, only for an eight-match winless streak to follow.
In the knowledge that a home fixture with Rotherham awaited them on Tuesday, it upped the stakes ahead of the trip to Burton Albion, but Steve Cotterill's side were finally able to get back on track.
Teenager Tom Bloxham chipped in with his second goal of the campaign before Matthew Pennington doubled that advantage after the break, guiding the Shropshire outfit to just their two away success of the season.
While the gap to the bottom four still sits at six points, Shrewsbury finally have more breathing space, but they need to raise their game for the second match in quick succession to build some much-needed momentum.
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
Team News
Shrewsbury are again without Josh Vela after his first-half red card during the 2-1 defeat to Portsmouth.
David Davis is also sidelined through injury, but Cotterill will be tempted to stick with the same team which secured success at Burton.
Luke Leahy heads into this fixture one yellow card away from picking up a two-game ban.
Barring any injury issues, Warne may also stick with the Rotherham XI which edged out Plymouth Arygle on Saturday.
Angus MacDonald is an alternative ahead of Joe Mattock in defence, while Jordi Osei-Tutu could bring fresh legs at wing-back.
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Marosi; Pennington, Ebanks-Landell, Flanagan; Bennett, Fornah, Leahy, Nurse; Udoh; Bowman, Bloxham
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Vickers; Harding, Ihiekwe, Mattock; Ogbene, Rathbone, Barlaser, Wiles, Ferguson; Smith, Ladapo
We say: Shrewsbury Town 0-2 Rotherham United
The pressure on Shrewsbury has eased somewhat as a result of their win over Burton, arguably giving them a free pass for this contest. Nevertheless, we cannot back against an impressive Rotherham outfit who are well on their way to achieving promotion with games to spare.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
