Rotherham United start the 2023/24 season off with a trip to Stoke City.
The Millers will be looking for the same result as they got last season at the bet365 stadium (a win), but the Potters will be doing their utmost to get a win themselves.
A two-nil loss away at Watford saw City end last season in sixteenth place, Rotherham three places, and three points, behind them.
Speaking to StokeonTrentlive Potters’ Manager Alex Neil said that he believes the Championship to be a ‘relentless league’ saying, ‘I think we are going to need a big squad. We’re going to have to chop and change a little bit and hopefully this season it’ll be a bit more horses for courses, whereas last year we didn’t have that flexibility.’
Stoke have certainly brought in players with Championship experience and most of them could get game time including Irish international goalkeeper Mark Travers. Alex Neil has just one injury problem which is to Ben Pearson although it’s thought he could be on the bench.
‘The first game of the season are always warm affairs,’ Millers Boss Matt Taylor told Radio Sheffield (Ed Note – I’ve been to Stoke it the ‘summer’ before and it definitely wasn’t warm!), ‘and we are expecting a physical game. I think Stoke will be stronger than they were last season. They’ve recruited well spending a lot of money on top quality players and have incredible depth. But we deserve to be on that pitch beside them.
‘It’s going to be the first time we will get to experience this added time situation that has been introduced. It may well be that we play over one hundred and ten minutes this weekend although the multi-ball could counteract that. But we are preparing ourselves for a longer period than we have had previously. As managers all we are asking for is consistency (from the officials) whether it’s the first game or the last game.’
After coming off in the pre-season game against Mansfield Town Grant Hall should make the travelling squad while Jamie Lindsay is a doubt. Shane Ferguson and Tom Eaves will miss out with injuries.
John Busby from Oxfordshire has the whistle for this game.
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