Both Rotherham United and Bolton Wanderers will be looking to bounce back to winning ways when they go toe-to-toe in an important League One fixture at the New York Stadium on the New Year’s Day with kickoff at 18:00.
Rotherham United have made an impressive campaign this season and are in contention for a direct-promotion as they currently sit in the second place with 47 points collected from their 23 league matches and are just two points behind the Sunderland at the summit with a game in hand. That means a positive result will have them overtake Sunderland to the first spot, but they are two points above the third-placed Wigan Athletic who have three matches in hand.
Rotherham are however, coming off an embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Accrington in their last League One fixture with a 75th-minute goal from Sean McConville putting an end to their five-match winning streak and a unbeaten run of 21 matches across all competitions.
Although, Paul Warne’s side boast the division’s most productive attack averaging almost two goals per game and also have a solid defence and will be aiming to put that to use in the second-half of the campaign as they look to earn a third promotion from the third tier in five seasons. They will fancy their chances in this match as they have already beaten their Saturday visitors 2-0 earlier this season and will hoping for a similar result here.
Meanwhile Bolton Wanderers have been on and off this season with the club recording seven wins, five draws and 10 defeats from their 22 league matches to collect 26 points which have left them sitting in the 15th spot in the league standings with eight points above the relegation zone but have two matches in hand.
They have had each of their last three fixtures postponed owing to coronavirus outbreak at the club and will be eager to return to fold this weekend looking to put an end to their slump in League One that saw them fail to win each of their last three league matches, drawing one while suffering back-to-back defeats.
Rotherham vs Bolton head to head
Both sides have met in nine encounters since 2013 with Rotherham claiming five wins while Bolton have claimed three wins and there have been one draw.
- Bolton 0-2 Rotherham 18/09/21
- Rotherham 6-1 Bolton 14/09/19
- Bolton 2-1 Rotherham 26/12/18
- Rotherham 1-1 Bolton 20/20/18
- Bolton 2-1 Rotherham 06/02/16
Home
- Accrington 1-0 Rotherham
- Cambridge 0-1 Rotherham
- Rotherham 3-1 Burton
- Rotherham 5-1 Gillingham
- Rotherham 1-0 Stockport
Away
- Accrington 1-0 Bolton
- Fleetwood 3-0 Bolton
- Bolton 1-0 Fleetwood
- Bolton 2-2 Cheltenham
- Bolton 3-0 Doncaster
Rotherham team news
To date, Rotherham have been fortunate to escape the illness and injury that has beset many other clubs, and the hosts currently have a clean bill of health – offering Paul Warne the opportunity to select his strongest side.
Bolton team news
Bolton on the other hand have particularly been hard hit by the latest wave of the pandemic, and it remains to be seen how many players he will have at his disposal to start 2022.
A total of 18 positive tests within the club means that not all of those affected will be fit to return, while Josh Sheehan and Lloyd Isgrove are long-term injury absentees.
Prediction and odds
- Rotherham United win
- Both sides to score
- Goals over 2.5
