Rochdale vs Rotherham Predictions

• Rochdale have lost each of their five home matches against top-eight teams at home this season.
• Rochdale have conceded two or more in each of their five home matches against top-eight teams this term.
• Both teams have scored in four of Rotherham’s five away matches against bottom-eight opposition, four of which they’ve won.

Dale on the slide

A few weeks back, it looked as though Dale had got it together. They delivered a solid performance to beat Shrewsbury, keeping a clean sheet in the process, while they followed up by earing a pleasing draw away against Doncaster. However, instead of kicking on, they’ve since lost three on the bounce, scoring just one goal in the process.

Defending has been something of a problem for some time for Dale, who’ve kept just one clean sheet in their last eight league matches. They’ve conceded two or more in six of those eight. Moreover, Dale have lost each of their last five against teams that are currently in the top eight, conceding two or more in each of those five.

Millers in good shape

Rotherham may be without a win in two, but by drawing against Coventry and MK Dons, they extended their unbeaten run. The Millers are unbeaten in seven, while they’ve lost just one of their last 15 league matches.

As things stand, Paul Warne’s men are the best travellers in League 1 with 33 away-day points to their name. Four wins and a draw from five away matches against teams that currently reside in the bottom eight show that the Millers have had few problems facing the lesser teams on the road. They’ve scored two or more in four of those five, though they have also conceded in four of those five.

Goals for both forecast

Rotherham are a better side than Rochdale, there can be no denying that, though this may not be the most straightforward fixture. Punters are advised to support ‘Both Teams to Score’. We saw last week that lesser teams can breach Rotherham’s defence, while both teams have scored in four of Rotherham’s five away matches against those currently in the bottom third of the table. Moreover, Rochdale, for all their defensive issues, have scored at home against the likes of Sunderland, Doncaster, Fleetwood, Gillingham and Coventry, which bodes well ahead of Saturday’s clash.

In the ‘Correct Score’ market, a 2-1 win for the visitors appeals. Rotherham are a better side than Rochdale at both ends of the pitch, so even though several things point towards them failing to keep a clean sheet, they’re fancied to come out on top. The visitors have scored twice in four of their matches away against bottom-half teams this season, while they’ve conceded once on eight occasions away from home.