Salford City vs Rotherham

Salford City and Rotherham United kick off their 2025-26 EFL Cup campaign when they go head to head at the Peninsula Stadium in the first round on Tuesday.

The last competitive meeting between the two teams also came at this stage of the cup competition back in September 2020, when the Ammies picked up a penalty-shootout victory on home turf.

Match preview

Salford City secured their first win of the 2025-26 League Two campaign on Saturday as they edged out Notts County 2-1 when the two sides squared off at Meadow Lane.

Adebola Oluwo struck in the 35th minute to hand the visitors a first-half lead, and after Kelly N’Mai doubled their advantage with a 58th-minute effort, Jayden Luker pulled one back for Notts County in the 71st minute.

Prior to that, Salford enjoyed an unbeaten campaign in pre-season, where they picked up three wins and five draws from their eight warm-up matches, before kicking off the new league season with a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Crewe Alexandra on August 2.

Following the loss against Crewe, the Ammies have failed to win seven of their most recent eight competitive matches on home turf, losing four and claiming three draws since the start of February.

Head coach Karl Robinson will hope his side can build on the win over Notts County as they look to avoid another early exit from the EFL Cup following their first-round defeat at the hands of Doncaster Rovers last season.

Having finished 13th in the League One standings last season, Rotherham United kicked off their quest for promotion into the English second tier on a high as they secured a 2-1 victory over Port Vale on August 2 thanks to a first-half brace from Sam Nombe.

However, Matthew Hamshaw’s men were guilty of a lack of cutting edge at the attacking end of the pitch on Saturday as they were sent back down to earth in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Stevenage.

Jamie Reid’s 40th-minute strike proved enough to separate the two sides at the Lamex Stadium as Stevenage held their own to see out the win and maintain their perfect start to the league campaign.

Like Tuesday’s host, Rotherham are seeking to reach the second round of the EFL Cup for the first time in the last two years after losing 2-1 against Fleetwood in last season’s opening round at the Highbury Stadium.

Salford City form (all competitions):

Rotherham United form (all competitions):

Team News

Salford remain without the services of 23-year-old forward Dan Chesters, who is yet to feature this year after suffering a severe injury in October.

The duo of Haji Mnoga and Ossama Ashley missed the opening two games this season through injury while 24-year-old Kevin Berkoe has been ruled out since coming off injured in the friendly match against York City in July.

As for Rotherham, Zak Jules could return to the fold on Tuesday, having missed the game against Stevenage at the weekend due to suspension after picking up a red card in the league opener against Port Vale on August 2.

On the injury front, Nombe was forced off in the second half against Stevenage last time out and the 26-year-old forward is a doubt for the trip to the Peninsula Stadium.

Joshua Kayode has missed each of the last five games since coming off injured in the pre-season game against Bromley on July 11, while Josh Ayres continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines since picking up an injury in February.

Salford City possible starting lineup:

Young; Harris, Garbutt, Oluwo, Turton, Longelo; N’Mai, Austerfield, Grant, Cesay; Bird

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:

Dawson; Agbaire, Raggett, Rafferty; Powell, Gore, James, Kelly, Hall; Hugill, McWilliams

We say: Salford City 1-2 Rotherham United

Buoyed by their victory over Notts County, Salford will head into Tuesday’s game with confidence as they look to keep the ball rolling and reach the cup second round. While home advantage gives the Ammies an extra edge, Rotherham are slight favourites on paper and we are backing them to show their upper hand at the Peninsula Stadium.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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