Preview: Blackburn Rovers vs. Bristol City - prediction, team news, lineups

Blackburn Rovers will be looking to bring an end to their poor form when they face fellow midtable side Bristol City at Ewood Park on Wednesday evening.

The Blue and Whites lost 1-0 against Brentford on Friday and are four points behind City, who saw off Birmingham City 3-0 the following day.

Match preview

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Since winning back-to-back matches at the end of January to move to within three points of the playoffs, Blackburn have lost seven and drawn two of their last 10 outings.

Rovers are now down in 14th, 17 points off the top six, after going down to an early Ivan Toney penalty in their most recent match.

Tony Mowbray's men are now winless in five at Ewood Park on the back of that loss to Brentford, which is their longest-such run since December 2004 (seven games without a win).

That spells good news heading into this clash with Bristol City, whose win over Birmingham at the weekend was their third in a row away from Ashton Gate.

City have scored nine goals in those three wins and could become the first second-tier side since Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2001 to net three or more in four straight away games.

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Nigel Pearson has helped to steady the ship, with a run of seven successive losses being followed by three wins and two defeats since he succeeded Dean Holden.

The Robins are not entirely out of the playoff picture just yet, but it will take a remarkable winning run if they are to make up the 13-point deficit on Barnsley in sixth.

City won the reverse fixture 1-0 in December through a late Famara Diedhiou goal and are seeking a second league double in the last three seasons over Blackburn.

However, Rovers have won four of their last seven home matches against City in all competitions (D2 L1), including a 3-1 win when the sides met towards the end of last season.

Team News

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Blackburn midfielder Bradley Dack suffered a second ACL injury in the loss to Brentford and is facing another long spell on the sidelines.

It is a devastating blow for the player first and foremost, but also for Mowbray as he has a lengthy list of casualties to cope with.

Lewis Travis is another who sustained an injury last week, so the home side will be forced into a reshuffle that could see Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott return to the XI.

The visitors have a growing injury list of their own, which includes Zak Vyner and Adam Nagy, who are expected to miss out here because of concussion protocols.

Pearson's hands are tied somewhat in terms of team selection, but he does at least have Callum O'Dowda in contention to start this contest.

Diedhiou, the difference between the sides in the reverse fixture, will lead the line as he looks to add to his eight goals in 33 league appearances this term.

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Nyambe, Lenihan, Harwood-Bellis, Douglas; Trybull, Johnson; Brereton, Rothwell, Elliott; Dolan

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

Bentley; Hunt, Mariappa, Kalas, Sessegnon; Massengo, Lansbury; Semenyo, Palmer, O'Dowda; Diedhiou

We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Bristol City

Blackburn have gone massively off the boil in recent weeks, whereas Bristol City have got their campaign back on track with three wins in their last five games.

The Robins have looked particularly strong on their travels and we can see them coming away from Ewood Park, where Blackburn have a record of six wins, six draws and six defeats this term, with all three points.