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

Looking to get back to winning ways after a few defeats, Blackburn Rovers host Stoke City at Ewood Park in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Rovers suffered a loss at home against Swansea City last time out, whilst the Potters picked up a respectable point at the league leaders.

Match preview

After finishing seventh in the 2024-25 Championship standings and missing out on a spot in the playoffs by just the single point, Blackburn Rovers appear set for troubles at the other end of the table this time around, with the Lancashire club's form dropping of late.

The Rovers concluded their busy September schedule with back-to-back defeats in the second tier, enduring a 3-0 battering at the base of Charlton Athletic on September 27 before losing narrowly to South Wales outfit Swansea City at Ewood Park on Tuesday night.

After losing three of their most recent quartet of Championship contests, Blackburn have dropped down to 22nd spot in the second-tier standings ahead of this weekend's hosting of Stoke, just three points ahead of surprise bottom side Sheffield United.

Apart from the abandoned game against Ipswich Town last month, the Rovers are yet to finish a match at Ewood Park in a winning or drawing position, with Saturday afternoon's hosts losing three straight matches in front of their own supporters in the second tier.

Experiencing over half a decade of mid-table finishes in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in 2018, Stoke City are enjoying a mini-revival during the early stages of 2025-26, showcasing their abilities in a possible promotion race.

Tuesday night brought a tricky trip to Teesside onto the agenda of the top-two chasing Potters, who managed to secure a share of the spoils at the base of the unbeaten leaders Middlesbrough, with Swedish sensation Viktor Johansson keeping a clean sheet.

Despite winning just one of their last five matches in the second tier, Stoke are currently occupying a commendable third spot in the Championship standings as the October international break approaches, just two points behind Frank Lampard's Coventry in second.

Securing a summer switch from League One outfit Huddersfield Town, Sorba Thomas has been a revelation at the bet365 Stadium with his trickery and delivery, with the Wales international scoring three goals and providing three assists across eight appearances.

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:

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Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions):

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Stoke City Championship form:

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Stoke City form (all competitions):

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Team News

Blackburn are operating without one of their leaders in Adam Forshaw, with the former Leeds United midfielder picking up a muscle injury.

The Rovers are also short of options in the backline due to the absence of Hayden Carter, who has a hamstring injury which is set to keep him sidelined until late October.

The hosts are yet to get any competitive action out of Moussa Baradji, with the 24-year-old suffering a foot problem at the start of September.

Limited to a watching brief at the start of this Championship term owing to a muscle problem, Sam Gallagher is a major miss for Stoke.

After making a promising start to the term from the engine room for the Potters, ex-Chelsea man Lewis Baker is now nursing a calf issue.

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Toth; Alebiosu, Miller, McLoughlin, Ribeiro; Tronstad, Gardner-Hickman, Kargbo, Cantwell, Hedges; Gudjohnsen

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Lawal, Phillips, Wilmot, Bocat; Rigo, Seko; Manhoef, Bae, Thomas; Bozenik

We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Stoke City

In terrible form at Ewood Park so far this term, Blackburn will be fearing the visit of promotion-chasing Stoke to Lancashire this weekend.

The Potters produced a battling display to earn a point at the Riverside Stadium earlier in the week and should be confident of collecting the victory this weekend.

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