Stubbs’ side host the Magpies on Saturday at New York Stadium.
Rotherham United manager Alan Stubbs has admitted that he is relishing the prospect of pitting himself against Rafa Benitez this weekend, and insisted that Newcastle United are favourites to win the Championship for a reason, as quoted by the Chronicle.
The Millers and the Magpies go into the meeting with starkly contrasting form. Stubbs’ side are bottom of the Championship with a single win and six defeats from their opening 10 games, having conceded a league-high 24 goals in those fixtures.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are third and have won six of their 10 matches, with their tally of 21 goals scored the highest in the Championship.
After a minor blip with defeat to Wolves and a draw at Aston Villa, Benitez’s side got back on track with victory over Norwich City in the most dramatic of fashions on Wednesday night.
Stubbs, who was a leading senior figure at Everton whilst Benitez was in charge at Liverpool, admitted that he cannot wait to face off against the Champions League-winning boss.
The 44-year-old said, via the Chronicle: “It’s me pitting my wits against a Champions League winner. There’s the Liverpool and Everton rivalry as well. I’ve come across Rafa on a few occasions and he’s a really nice guy; very humble, very intelligent.
“You only have to listen to some of his ex-players talk to know that, tactically, he’s a fantastic manager. I’m hoping on Saturday he doesn’t get his tactics right and I get mine right.”
Stubbs also went on to suggest that the visit of Newcastle will be a season highlight for Rotherham, and insisted that the Tyneside club have already proved that they fully deserve their widely-recognised label of favourites for the Championship title.
“It’s great. This is what it’s all about. I don’t think anyone could have envisaged the likes of a Newcastle coming to New York Stadium this season because everybody would have thought they’d be a Premier League club.
“When a team’s spent over £50 million on players just this season, I think that tells you what their aspirations are. They’ll be there or thereabouts. I think they’re everybody’s favourites to go up this season. I can see why.”
The respective form and statistics for either side seems to heavily suggest that there will only be one outcome from Saturday’s meeting, and Stubbs will do extremely well to mastermind what would be one of the biggest shocks in the second tier this season.
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