Paul Warne’s Rotherham United face a trip to the KCOM Stadium midweek to face Hull City in the SkyBet Championship. Here, we take a look at who the Millers will be facing in our opposition analysis…
In the Dugout
Nigel Adkins will be the man in the dugout for the Tigers on Tuesday night. The 53-year old was a goalkeeper in his playing career. He started his youth career at Liverpool before joining Tranmere Rovers. He represented Tranmere over 80 times following his debut in 1983 before he moved to Wigan Athletic. He became player-manager at Bangor City and helped guide them to consecutive promotions. Adkins made 336 league appearances overall in his career before retiring at the age of 31 in 1996.
After graduating from the University of Salford with a degree in Physiotherapy, he joined the physiotherapy team at Scunthorpe United. He was appointed caretaker of Scunthorpe in November 2006 before being made permanent manager a month later. Adkins guided Scunthorpe to two promotions in his time there, both from the Championship in 2007 and 2009. He joined Southampton in September 2010 and steered them to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League. He also managed Reading and Sheffield United before joining Hull City in December 2017 following the dismissal of Leonid Slutsky.
Stats
Hull City currently sit 12th in the table having lost only three league matches since losing away against Bristol City back on the 24th October 2018, winning 10 and drawing four. Hull have also made the KCOM Stadium a fortress in recent weeks, winning their last five games there. They have scored 16 goals and conceded just two within that run, keeping four clean sheets in the process.
However, Hull have lost two of their last five fixtures, winning twice and drawing once. The last time they played was a 2-0 defeat against Derby County. Martyn Waghorn’s brace sealed all three points for the Rams that day.
Previous Meetings
This is the 72nd meeting between these sides, with the first meeting being a 2-2 draw in the Division Three (North) in October 1930. Rotherham have won 27 of these fixtures while Hull have won 26, with there being 18 draws. The last time these teams drew was back in November 1999, with Hull winning three of the last five. The Millers haven’t won at the KCOM Stadium since September 1997, losing four in their last six attempts.
The last time these teams met was in August 2018 as Hull won 3-2 away at the AESSEAL New York Stadium in the Sky Bet Championship. A brace by Jackson Irvine and a strike from Frazier Campbell sealed victory for the Tigers, despite goals from Richard Wood and Jamie Proctor for the Millers. The last time Rotherham won was in December 2015 with a 2-0 home victory, courtesy from goals from Lee Frecklington and Joe Newell.
Ones to Watch
Our Ones to Watch start with goalkeeper David Marshall. The 33-year old started his career at Celtic before moving to Norwich City. After leaving Norwich in 2009, he joined Cardiff and captained the side to the Premier League. He made over 250 appearances for the Bluebirds before joining Hull City. He has been ever-present for the Tigers this season, starting every Championship game for the club.
In defence, new January signing Liam Ridgewell could be given his home debut. The 34-year old joined on a free transfer following his release from MLS side Portland Timbers. He has made over 400 career appearances and has represented a variety of clubs including West Brom and Aston Villa.
In midfield, Kevin Stewart continues to impress in the middle of the park. The former Tottenham and Liverpool player has seen an upturn in form since his move to Hull in July 2017. Wingers Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki have been the dynamic duo for Hull as they have scored 20 goals between them as well as nine assists.
Upfront, Frazier Campbell has nine goals to his name making him the second highest goalscorer for Hull, behind Bowen with 15. Adkins could start Chris Martin, as the on loan striker was ineligible to face his parent club Derby County last time out.