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Rotherham United vs Brighton & Hove Albion – match preview

By William Wells

Bottom of the table Rotherham United could be relegated with eight games to go, however captain Lee Frecklington is likely to start according to Millers manager Paul Warne.

Appearing as a substitute against last opponents Aston Villa on Saturday, Warne is hopeful about Frecklington’s inclusion in the Brighton game. He said: “I’m hopeful he can start the game and end it, which would be nice”.

Brighton have injury woes of their own with goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell (hand), Shane Duffy (metatarsal), Gaeten Bong (knee), Sebastien Pocognoli (groin) and centre-back Connor Goldson (heart) all out for the game at the New York Stadium.

Despite the injury problems, Brighton remain second in the league, with a six point gap above the surprise package of the season Huddersfield in third. Rotherham sit bottom of the Championship table as they have for the majority of the season, yet the Millers may be quietly confident.

In their last two away games against Rotherham, the seagulls have been beaten both times. A potential upset could be on the cards as although Rotherham are bottom by 14 points they could have earned more from recent games. A 0-2 loss against Aston Villa was very unlucky considering an unfortunate own goal from Will Vaulkes and also the fact that Aston Villa are the biggest spenders in the Championship.

The inclusion of Lee Frecklington will no doubt boost Rotherham and the importance of the captain’s return was summed up by Warne’s comments on the effect the Irishman has on the starting lineup. Warne explained, speaking to the official website: “I pulled him in today [Monday] because I was discussing selection and all that and I wanted his input”.

Brighton will not take this game lightly however – a slip up and Brighton could find the gap between themselves and Huddersfield cut to three points and the gap to leaders Newcastle increased to eight.

As far as Rotherham go,with relegation all but confirmed, the focus is on pies rather than football in their most recent tweet.

 

 

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