In a preview of their upcoming FA Cup quarter-final tie at Bramall Lane, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United will do battle in a similarly important contest in the fight at the top end of the Championship table on Saturday at Ewood Park.
The hosts sit fourth thanks to three straight league wins and progressed past Leicester City in the cup on Tuesday, while their visitors have a healthy lead over the chasing pack in second spot and come in on the back of a triumph over Tottenham Hotspur.
Match preview
© Reuters
After a strong start to the Championship season, Blackburn Rovers briefly quickly dropped well behind the top two and into the heated fight for playoff places, but they have since bounced back under Jon Dahl Tomasson to strengthen their position in the top six.
Rovers would not draw any of their first 27 matches of the league season, but after losing four of their first six Championship outings following the return from the World Cup break, they would share points in four consecutive contests against Bristol City, Wigan Athletic, Watford and West Bromwich Albion, before bouncing back and turning those results into the foundations of an unbeaten streak with triumphs in each of their last three league games.
Following 1-0 victories at home to Swansea City and Blackpool, the Lancashire outfit travelled to take on Queens Park Rangers last Saturday, and after Sam Gallagher's opener was cancelled out by Tim Iroegbunam equaliser, Sammie Szmodics would restore his side's lead on the stroke of half time and Gallagher netted his second of the contest to wrap up their 17th second-tier win of the campaign.
On the back of those results, which have triggered a climb back up to fourth spot, Tomasson's men come into the weekend in particularly high spirits, having travelled to take on Leicester City in the FA Cup round of 16 on Tuesday and triumphed in a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Tyrhys Dolan and Szmodics to book a quarter-final meeting with Saturday's opponents at Bramall Lane later in March.
Before that looming tie, Rovers will have their focus on adding three more points to their tally to strengthen their lead over the chasing pack in the playoff fight.
© Reuters
They welcome a Sheffield United side who travel with renewed confidence after a brief slip in the fight for automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
The Blades have occupied a spot in the top two for the majority of the Championship campaign thus far, and a strong run after the return from the World Cup break, in which they went unbeaten in a nine-game span and picked up seven wins and 23 points, left them 10 points clear of third-placed Middlesbrough with a game in hand heading into a meeting with the Teeside outfit at Bramall Lane in mid-February.
Paul Heckingbottom's side would come out of that contest empty-handed, though, and the lead was then cut to four points as they suffered a 3-2 defeat away at Millwall in the following encounter, with Tom Bradshaw hitting a hat-trick for the hosts, before the South Yorkshire outfit made a crucial return to winning ways at home to Watford last weekend, as the game was decided by Ryan Porteous's own goal in the final 20 minutes.
They would then play host to Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup round of 16 on Wednesday, and the Blades booked their final-eight tie with Rovers courtesy of a surprise 1-0 victory, thanks to Iliman Ndiaye's solo goal 11 minutes from time.
Now having regained some momentum with those results, and with the gap to third place now back at seven points thanks to the Watford victory and a defeat for Middlesbrough at the weekend, Heckingbottom's men will aim to come out of a tough trip with three more important points and take another step towards a top-two finish this weekend.
Team News
© Reuters
Blackburn Rovers continue to deal with injury issues across the pitch, as key attackers Ben Brereton Diaz and Bradley Dack remain sidelined alongside Daniel Ayala, Scott Wharton, Adam Wharton and goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski.
Given those absences, Aynsley Pears will again feature between the sticks, with Dom Hyam and Hayden Carter partnering up in the middle of a back four, while Sam Gallagher will again lead the line in a 4-2-3-1 setup.
He will have support from the likes of Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics, both of whom got on the scoresheet in the win over Leicester, while captain Lewis Travis will operate at the base of midfield alongside either Tyler Morton or John Buckley.
Sheffield United made several rotations for the Tottenham contest on Wednesday, and we should see a return to full strength, with John Egan bound to return from suspension into the middle of a back three, and Chris Basham will join him and Jack Robinson after impressing in the round-of-16 triumph with Anel Ahmedhodzic set to serve a suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards in the Championship.
Elsewhere, Oliver Norwood and Sander Berge will return to the midfield from the outset, leaving John Fleck and Manchester City loanees Tommy Doyle and James McAtee to fight for the final spot in the engine room, while Max Lowe could retake his spot at left wing-back on the opposite flank to George Baldock.
Top scorer Oli McBurnie will also come back in from the start to lead the line alongside Iliman Ndiaye, who netted the decisive goal to fire them through to the quarter-finals having also contributed 10 goals and seven assists in the Championship so far this season.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Rankin-Costello, Carter, Hyam, Pickering; Travis, Morton; Hedges, Szmodics, Dolan; Gallagher
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Basham, Egan, Robinson; Baldock, Berge, Norwood, Doyle, Lowe; McBurnie, Ndiaye
We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Sheffield United
Both teams are high on confidence following cup triumphs and are desperate for wins in their respective promotion bids.
The Blades have shone throughout the season thus far and cruised past Blackburn at Bramall Lane, but we see Saturday being a much tougher test and only anticipate them coming away with a share of the spoils against a resurgent Rovers side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
