Rotherham United will be looking to return to winning ways in League One when they welcome Lincoln City to New York Stadium on Tuesday night.
The home side will enter the match off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Fleetwood Town on Saturday, while Lincoln suffered a 1-0 home loss to Cambridge United on the same afternoon.
Match preview
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Rotherham remain in a strong position to challenge for an immediate return to the Championship, having picked up 50 points from their 25 League One matches this season to sit third in the table, just two points behind leaders Wycombe Wanderers with two games in hand.
The Millers have actually lost three of their last five matches in all competitions, though, including their last two, going out of the FA Cup on penalties to Queens Park Rangers on January 8 before suffering a 1-0 defeat at Fleetwood in the league on Saturday afternoon.
Rotherham have only won one of their last three League One matches, meanwhile, having also lost at Accrington Stanley on Boxing Day, but they now have back-to-back home fixtures against Lincoln and Cheltenham Town before ending January away to Crewe Alexandra.
Paul Warne's side have the best defensive record in League One this season with just 18 conceded, while they are the third-highest goalscorers with 45, and it would be a huge surprise not to see them in and around the top two heading into the final straight.
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Lincoln, meanwhile, secured back-to-back wins over Oxford United and Sunderland in their first two matches of 2022 but were brought back down to earth on Saturday, losing 1-0 at home to Cambridge.
A record of seven wins, seven draws and 11 defeats from 25 matches has seen the Imps collect 28 points to sit 18th in the table, just four points clear of the relegation zone.
Lincoln have really struggled in front of their own supporters this season, picking up only 12 points from 13 matches, which is the second-worst home record in the division behind Gillingham.
Michael Appleton's side have performed impressively on their travels, though, winning four, drawing four and losing four of their 12 away League One fixtures, so they should enter this match in good confidence.
That said, the Imps have only picked up one point from their last two League One games against Rotherham, and the points were shared in a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
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Team News
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Josh Vickers is expected to retain his position between the sticks for Rotherham, with head coach Warne unlikely to shuffle his pack despite the disappointing loss at Fleetwood.
A 3-5-2 formation could again see Will Grigg join Michael Smith in the final third of the field, although it seems more likely that Freddie Ladapo will come in for a start.
Shane Ferguson and Chiedozie Ogbene should also retain their spots in the starting side, with the home team not suffering any fresh fitness issues in the loss at Fleetwood.
As for Lincoln, head coach Appleton is also expected to resist the temptation to make wholesale changes from the side that started the defeat to Cambridge.
Chris Maguire should again support Liam Cullen in the final third of the field, while Lewis Florini is likely to retain his spot in midfield despite pressure from Max Sanders.
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Vickers; Edmonds-Green, Wood, Ihiekwe; Ogbene, Barlaser, Wiles, Rathbone, Ferguson; Ladapo, Smith
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Griffiths; Bishop, Eyoma, Poole, Bramall; Whittaker, McGrandles, Fiorini, Scully; Maguire; Cullen
We say: Rotherham United 1-0 Lincoln City
Rotherham will be desperate to return to winning ways in League One, and we are expecting the home side to triumph here. Lincoln will take heart from their recent win at Sunderland but are likely to come up short against Rotherham on Tuesday night.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rotherham United win with a probability of 57.21%. A draw had a probability of 23.3% and a win for Lincoln City had a probability of 19.49%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rotherham United win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.99%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.58%) and 2-1 (9.78%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.08%), while for a Lincoln City win it was 0-1 (6.28%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Rotherham United would win this match.
