Stoke City vs Rotherham United Prediction: Rotherham will be hoping to survive once again

Stoke City will welcome Rotherham United at bet365 Stadium in Gameweek 1 of the English Championship. Rotherham will be hoping to survive once again. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes? 

Despite showing promise for a late playoff push in the 2022-23 Championship season, Stoke ultimately finished in 16th place in the second tier, their joint lowest position since being relegated from the Premier League in 2018. Like other former top-flight clubs in the division, Stoke is no longer receiving parachute payments. However, they have made some notable signings this summer.

Attacking players Chiquinho and Wesley have been brought in from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa, respectively. Wesley has the potential to thrive in the second tier if he can stay clear of injuries. The club has also focused on recruiting players with Championship experience, such as center-back Luke McNally from Burnley, who spent part of the last season on loan at Coventry City.

Stoke struggled at their home ground, the bet365 Stadium, last season, managing only six wins in 23 second-tier matches. Only Queens Park Rangers and Wigan Athletic had fewer successes in front of their home fans. Their pre-season has been a mix of results, concluding with a defeat against Premier League side Everton, where Amadou Onana scored a 96th-minute winner for Sean Dyche's Toffees.

Travers; Rose, McNally, Stevens; Hoever, Pearson, Laurent, Tymon; Campbell, Gayle; Mmaee

Rotherham is back in the Championship for consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2016-17 term, having comfortably avoided relegation under Matthew Taylor's management last season. The club has experienced promotions from League One in 2018 and 2020, but they were immediately relegated in 2019 and 2021. However, in the 2022-23 season, Rotherham shed their whipping-boy status in the second tier, finishing in 19th place.

With the strength of the division this season, Rotherham may face a tough challenge to secure a third year at this level, especially with the departure of their prolific scorer, Chiedozie Ogbene. The Irishman was the team's top scorer last season with eight league goals and secured a lucrative move to Premier League newcomers Luton Town in June.

To compensate for Ogbene's departure, right-back Fred Onyedinma has arrived from Kenilworth Road in an unrelated deal with Luton Town, following Wes Harding's departure to Millwall on a free transfer.

Rotherham will be hoping for a repeat of their successful trip to Staffordshire last season when they secured a 1-0 victory against Stoke with a sixth-minute strike from midfielder Oliver Rathbone in October 2022.

Johansson; Hall, Peltier, Humphreys; Onyedinma, Wiles, Rathbone, Bramall; Kelly, Hugill, Cafu

Stoke is eager to make a strong start to their Championship campaign, and their home match against Rotherham presents a favourable opportunity to do just that. While Rotherham might face difficulties in avoiding relegation this season, they will be aiming to catch Stoke off guard on Saturday. Nevertheless, we anticipate the hosts securing a close victory. Under 2.5 goals is expected in the game.