Sunderland vs Rotherham United Prediction: Both teams are looking for their first win this season

Sunderland will welcome Rotherham United at Stadium of Light in Gameweek 3 of the English Championship. Both teams are looking for their first win this season. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

Sunderland form

Sunderland approached the upcoming Championship season with the goal of building upon their successful campaign the previous year. Under the guidance of Tony Mowbray, they achieved a top-six finish after earning promotion back to the second tier. Unfortunately, their hopes of consecutive promotions were dashed by a playoff defeat against Luton Town. Despite this setback, Sunderland took many positives from their return to the second tier and focused on their new campaign.

Their first match was against newly-promoted Ipswich Town, but it did not go according to plan. They suffered a 2-1 defeat, with Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst scoring for Ipswich. Adding to their challenges, Trai Hume was sent off in the 72nd minute. Although Dan Neil managed to score a goal in the 86th minute, Sunderland was unable to equalize and left empty-handed. They then faced Crewe Alexandra in the EFL Cup and were eliminated in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in regular time.

Returning their attention to the Championship, Sunderland's most recent match was against Preston North End. Once again, they fell behind as Will Keane scored for Preston. However, Jack Clarke quickly equalized with a penalty before Mads Frokjaer-Jensen restored Preston's lead in the 60th minute, resulting in Sunderland leaving the match without any points.

As one of only four teams without a point from their first two matches, Sunderland is eager to kickstart their Championship season and begin climbing the league table with a victory in their upcoming match on Saturday.

Sunderland Predicted Lineup

Patterson; Hume, Ballard, O'Nien, Cirkin; Bellingham, Neil; Roberts, Pritchard, Clarke; Dack

Rotherham United form

Rotherham United, who have only earned one point so far this season, are facing a challenging match against their opponents. In the previous season, under the guidance of Matt Taylor, they managed to secure their position in the second tier of English football, finishing 19th with a total of 50 points from their 46 games. Their first match of the new season was against Stoke City, resulting in a 4-1 defeat. Despite Lee Peltier scoring a goal and Jacob Brown wrapping up a dominant display for Stoke, Rotherham United struggled. Their next encounter was against Morecambe in the EFL Cup, which went to a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. They eventually advanced to the next round. In their first home league game, they took a 2-0 lead against Blackburn Rovers, but were unable to secure the win due to an unfortunate red card for Fred Onyedinma and two goals from Sammie Szmodics in the final 15 minutes. Rotherham United now looks ahead to their upcoming difficult away match, hoping to secure their first league victory of the season.

Rotherham United Predicted Lineup

Johansson; Humphreys, Morrison, Blackett; Lembikisa, Rathbone, Cafu, Odoffin, Bramall; Wiles; Hugill

Sunderland vs Rotherham United Expert Tips

Despite not having their main forward and losing their first two league games, Sunderland still has a significant amount of talent. It is only a matter of time before they start performing well in the Championship. We predict that they will secure their first victory of the season on Saturday, as the Millers are not anticipated to pose many challenges for them on the away ground. We expect over 2.5 goals throughout the game.