Posh head to Yorkshire on Good Friday to face promotion-contenders Rotherham United
Peterborough United travel to the New York Stadium to face Rotherham United on Good Friday (3pm) and with the Millers just ahead of Posh in the Sky Bet League One table, there is plenty at stake for both clubs.
When you add to the mix that former Rotherham United boss Steve Evans is in charge at Posh and that two former Posh players in Jon Taylor and Joe Newell are in the Millers’ ranks, you can see why it is arguably the game of the day in the division this weekend.
Posh go into the game off the back of a 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers while the Millers were beaten 2-0 at Roots Hall against Southend United.
TEAM NEWS
Posh are waiting on the fitness of central defender Ryan Tafazolli who limped out of the draw with the Pirates inside the opening 10 minutes with a hamstring issue. Jack Baldwin is suspended while Gwion Edwards and Alex Penny are injured. Leo Da Silva Lopes is back from international duty with Portugal under 20s.
Rotherham goalkeeper Marek Rodak is likely to return to the starting line-up in the vital League One clash with Peterborough. Rodak, on a season-long loan from Fulham, missed last week's 2-0 defeat at Southend as he was away on international duty with Slovakia Under-21s and is set to displace Lewis Price. Darren Potter is still making his comeback from an Achilles injury and is unlikely to play.
FROM THE GAFFER
“I had three magical years at that club, but I want to beat them as much as they will want to beat me. It’s a great place to play football. I was there for the move to the new stadium (in 2012) and it’s a fantastic arena. The home fans are passionate and the atmosphere will be fantastic. I’m still in regular contact with the chairman (Tony Stewart) and their manager, Paul Warne, was my fitness coach. He’s a great lad.”
FROM THE OPPOSITION
Am I looking forward to going head to head with Steve? Not really. He’s won more games here than I have and he’s hugely experienced and I’m not. It was a rollercoaster at times but you could never say it wasn’t entertaining. Steve is a winner. He openly admits that all he wants to do is win. He’s a horrendous loser. That’s the other side of being a great winner, I suppose. He will do anything to win a game. Steve’s focus was always on the match day. The lads always knew exactly what he wanted from them. There were never any grey areas. Predominantly, he wanted them working hard,” Rotherham boss Paul Warne said.
TICKET NEWS
Just under 800 tickets had been sold in advance at 2pm on Thursday. Tickets are available at www.theposhtickets.com, via the Ticketmaster hotline 0844 847 1934 (calls cost 7ppm plus your network access fee) and in person at the ABAX Stadium Box Office. The game is not all-ticket, but there is a £2 price rise on the day.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
The referee for Saturday’s game is Scott Oldham.