York City vs Rotherham United - prediction, team news, lineups

A month after meeting in League Two, York City and Rotherham United will square off again on Tuesday in the EFL Trophy.

The two sides drew 1-1 at the New York Stadium in August, with the visitors heading into a first EFL game of the season and their hosts on the back of a defeat in their first group match.

York City head into their second EFL Trophy game of the campaign, having lost in their opener alongside a positive start to their return to League Two.

In their first appearance in the competition since 2015-16, the Minstermen begun at home to Newcastle United Under-21s in mid-September and came away empty-handed, leading 1-0 early through Joe Felix, only for the visitors to level on the stroke of half time and score twice in the second half.

Prior to that, Scott Lindsey's side, who appointed him over the summer on the back of National League promotion under Stuart Maynard, had earned 11 points from their first six matches back in England's fourth tier, winning three and only losing four of those.

That culminated in a 4-0 thrashing of Swindon Town, with Alex Newby scoring a brace alongside goals from Ollie Banks and Ollie Pearce, but they failed to bounce back from the cup loss last time out, visiting Chesterfield and suffering a 2-0 loss with Lee Bonis and Dilan Markanday scoring second-half goals for the hosts.

York City now return to action hoping to bounce back to winning ways against a side they drew away to last month, before taking on Gillingham in League Two at the weekend.

Their visitors, meanwhile, play their first EFL Trophy game of the season on Tuesday, having progressed from the group stage last year with two wins from their three matches in 2025-26 before a round-of-32 exit.

Rotherham United underwent a summer of change following a second relegation in three years, preparing for a season in League Two under the new management of Alex Bruce after a busy summer of incoming and outgoing transfers.

The Millers currently find themselves 14th after seven outings, winning two and losing two of those having lost just once since the opening day, while scoring 10 goals and conceding 10 in their seven matches.

Bruce's men headed to fellow relegated side Northampton Town on Saturday on the back of two draws and a defeat, and they returned to winning ways as Paul Mullin converted a penalty for the only goal of the game 17 minutes from time.

With optimism growing under their new manager, Rotherham United will turn their focus to EFL Trophy action on Tuesday and bid to put themselves in pole position to qualify from the group with an away win.

Rotherham United form (all competitions):

York City remain unable to call on defender Morgan Williams, midfielder Hiram Boateng and attacker Josh Stones due to ongoing injuries.

Scott Lindsey made wholesale changes for their first group game against Newcastle Under-21s and may do similar on Tuesday in the midst of a busy League Two schedule, with the likes of Ollie Banks, Joe Grey, Harry Boyes and Alex Hunt all likely to be rested again.

George Sykes-Kenworthy will continue between the sticks in place of first-choice Alfie McNally, while Joe Felix, Arthur Read, Zech Medley and Jovan Malcolm are among those hoping to earn Lindsey's favour for upcoming league games.

Alex Bruce may also take the chance to rotate his Rotherham team on Tuesday having played four league games since the start of September.

They remain without several players due to ongoing injuries with Lenny Agbaire, Hamish Douglas, Marvin Kaleta and Jamie Jellis all sidelined.

Defender Dominic Iorfa started on debut at the weekend and may stay in the team as he gets up to speed after his recent arrival, but the likes of Denzel Hall, Ossama Ashley, Josh Austerfield and Paul Mullin may be rested with Kian Spence, Emmanuel Adegboyega and Kieran Ngwenya potentially getting opportunities from the outset.

Sykes-Kenworthy; Hunt, Palmer, McArthur; Felix, Stiver, Read, Medley; Malcolm, Akinyemi, Pearce

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:

Cann; Adegboyega, Iorfa, Ngwenya; Hall, Spence, Fitzgerald, Cover, Buyabu; Bradshaw, Sebine

York City made as many changes as possible for their first EFL Trophy tie last time out, while Alex Bruce may field a slightly stronger Rotherham United side, while still rotating, as he continues to make his mark on the Millers.

We fancy them to come out on top, therefore, in a tight game at the LNER Community Stadium.

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