Wayne Rooney will be aiming to extend his unbeaten run as Derby County manager to seven games when the Rams pay a visit to the New York Stadium to take on Rotherham United in Saturday's Championship clash.

The two sides are level in the table on 16 points, but Rotherham sit two spots above 22nd-placed Derby owing to their superior goal difference.

Match preview

Rotherham were on cloud nine after overcoming Bristol City last weekend, but Paul Warne's side soon returned to losing ways in the cruellest of fashions against Blackburn Rovers in midweek.

The Millers struck first at Ewood Park through Michael Smith's third goal of the season, but Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott levelled before Adam Armstrong won the day for Blackburn eight minutes into added time at the end of the second half.

It was an extremely difficult defeat for the Rotherham faithful to take - one which also stretched their losing away run to seven matches - and that result means that the Millers remain 20th in the Championship table.

Despite teetering dangerously close to the dotted line, Rotherham have produced the goods at home more often than not recently and have only lost once in their last four on familiar territory, but Warne's side are facing an uphill battle to take maximum points against a Rooney-inspired Derby.

Derby's recent results makes for encouraging reading for the Rams faithful, who are yet to witness their side taste defeat since Rooney took the reins.

While this weekend's visitors still occupy a spot in the relegation zone, Derby comfortably swept aside promotion-chasing Swansea City 2-0 in midweek thanks to goals from Colin Kazim-Richards and Kamil Jozwiak, with the Rams keeping their fourth clean sheet in succession on Wednesday evening.

Incredibly, that win over Swansea represented the first time this season that Derby had notched up more than one goal in a game, but more importantly, the Rams have finally won a game on home soil in the 2020-21 Championship campaign.

A victory over Rotherham this weekend would see Derby climb out of the relegation zone at their opponents' expense, and the Rams could also leapfrog Nottingham Forest should they lose at Millwall.

Rotherham managed to record a 1-0 win in this fixture in the 2018-19 Championship season, but Derby trounced the Millers 6-1 at Pride Park when the sides most recently met in March 2019.

Rotherham United Championship form: DLLLWL

Derby County Championship form: DDWDDW

Team News

Rotherham have been able to welcome Mickel Miller back to the fold in recent days, but left-back Trevor Clarke is a major doubt after suffering a back injury in training.

Warne has no fresh absentees to contend with from the defeat to Blackburn, though, and the Millers boss could be tempted to name an unchanged lineup having only lost in the dying embers on Wednesday.

Joe Mattock, Chiedozie Ogbene, Kieran Sadlier and Shaun MacDonald all remain on the treatment table for the hosts.

As for Derby, veteran defender Curtis Davies is set to undergo surgery on the Achilles injury he sustained against Brentford, and the 35-year-old will be out for the foreseeable future.

Jordon Ibe played no part in the victory over Swansea after suffering a slight knock, but Rooney expects the winger to make the cut this weekend.

Furthermore, Tom Lawrence could also return to the fold assuming he shakes off an ankle injury, meaning that Rooney could have a fully-fit squad at his disposal for this game.

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Ihiekwe, MacDonald, Wood; Olosunde, Lindsay, Crooks, Barlaser, Wiles; Vassell, Smith

Derby County possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Byrne, Wisdom, Clarke, Buchanan; Bielik, Shinnie, Knight; Ibe, Kazim-Richards, Lawrence

We say: Rotherham United 1-2 Derby County

Derby have become renowned for their low-scoring affairs recently, but as long as Rooney keeps bringing in the points, the Rams faithful will pay no attention to the scoreline. However, Rotherham were highly unfortunate to lose in the manner that they did at Blackburn, and the hosts will be out for blood when they welcome Derby to the New York Stadium on Saturday, but we can see Rooney's unbeaten run at Derby stretch to seven matches with a narrow win against their fellow strugglers.

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