Match Preview: Burton Albion vs Rochdale Monday, 19th Oct 2020 09:51 by AtThePeake Having succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at home to Hull City over the weekend, Dale look to bounce back at the earliest possible opportunity on Tuesday night. Date: Tuesday 20th October 2020 That victory over the Cod Army, Dale's first of the season, was fully deserved after a hearty, battling performance at Spotland but since then, Brian Barry-Murphy's charges have put in two rather lacklustre displays. Having taken the lead in the second half against Accrington, Dale slipped to a 1-2 defeat at the hands of a club that they usually possess such a strong record against, but the following match has given supporters even more cause for concern. A display totally lacking in any real cohesion or attacking threat saw promotion hopefuls Hull City ease to three goals and three points at Spotland on Saturday afternoon and worryingly, it feels almost as if Dale are awaiting Stephen Humphrys' return from injury before their season can get underway. That return appears to be a few games away just yet, so Brian Barry-Murphy will again turn to Alex Newby and Stephen Beesley in attack for this game, a duo that has a grand total of two EFL goals between them - neither coming this season. Paul McShane was again withdrawn in the second consecutive match, so who partners Eoghan O'Connell at centre-back will be the big question about the starting XI in this game whilst Stephen Dooley may hope for a return to the starting XI having missed out on Saturday. One rare bright spark from the Hull defeat was the encouraging debut of new loan signing Tolaji Bola and he should start again in the left-back role. Dale have a pretty dreadful record against Burton Albion, having won only two of the 11 league meetings between the two sides and their only previous win at the Pirelli Stadium in 7 visits in all competitions coming on the opening day of the 2018/2019 campaign. Having risen up the non-league ranks under Nigel Clough, even enjoying a famous draw with Manchester United in the FA Cup, the Brewers finally reached the fourth tier of English football with promotion in 2008/2009 - and the upwards trajectory didn't end there. Back-to-back promotions in 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 saw the Staffordshire outfit rise as far as the Championship and even remain there for a second campaign, when they were eventually relegated on the final day of the 2017/2018 season. Since then it's been back-to-back mid-table finishes in League One for the Brewers, but they are actually one of the few teams to have endured a start to the campaign as bad as Dale's having thus far managed to earn themselves just four points from their opening six games, that victory coming in their opening home match of the season versus Accrington Stanley. Jake Buxton's men have since gone five games without a win in all competitions, remarkably losing three consecutive games by a 4-2 scoreline before going down 2-0 at Plymouth and holding Bristol Rovers to a 1-1 draw over the weekend. Scott Fraser rejected a contract in the summer to join Milton Keynes, but it seems on paper that Burton's summer business was quite strong, with Lincoln duo Neal Eardley and Michael Bostwick bringing some experience and Premier League loanees such as Jack Roles and Niall Ennis being tipped for big futures in the game. But judging by results so far, it hasn't quite clicked for Buxton in his first managerial job and he'll be hoping that back-to-back home fixtures against pre-season relegation favourites Rochdale and AFC Wimbledon this week will prove to be the turning point in the side's early season. Rochdale: 12 Sep 2015 Burton Albion 0-1 Rochdale - League One Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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