MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 10:47:13| >> :120:78317:78317:
[monks data]
Blackburn logo
Championship | Gameweek 4
Oct 3, 2020 at 3pm UK
Ewood Park
Cardiff City logo

Blackburn
0 - 0
Cardiff


Johnson (50'), Gallagher (80')
FT

Cunningham (34'), Bacuna (49'), Tomlin (59')
Tomlin (70')

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

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Blackburn Rovers and Cardiff City, including team news and predicted lineups.

In-form Blackburn Rovers will be looking to keep their positive run going when they welcome slow starters Cardiff City to Ewood Park on Saturday afternoon.

Rovers lost their opening game of the season but have since scored eight goals without conceding in back-to-back wins, while Cardiff have three points from the first nine on offer.


Match preview

Adam Armstrong celebrates scoring for Blackburn Rovers on September 19, 2020© Reuters

The Blue and Whites' 11 goals from their first three league matches is the most by a second-tier side since Middlesbrough scored 12 in 1963-64.

Tony Mowbray's men looked scintillating in their 5-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers and 4-0 victory at Derby County, coming on the back of a 3-2 reverse at the hands of Bournemouth.

Ewood Park is the last place Cardiff want to visit this weekend, then, having looked poor in a defensive sense so far this season.

City shipped three unanswered goals against Northampton Town in the EFL Cup first round and have lost 2-0 and 2-1 to Sheffield Wednesday and Reading respectively in the league.

Those home losses sandwiched an improved 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest in their first away league outing of the season, and it is City's away form that will offer Neil Harris hope.

Cardiff City's Sean Morrison celebrates scoring against Middlesbrough on July 18, 2020© Reuters

The Bluebirds have won eight of their last 10 Championship matches on their travels, including a run of three victories on the bounce stretching back into last season.

Cardiff have a good record at Ewood Park, too, with their last league defeat there coming some 36 years ago. The last four encounters there between the sides have finished level.

Blackburn won the most recent encounter 3-2 in South Wales three months ago, with Adam Armstrong scoring what proved to be the winning goal 20 minutes from time.

Armstrong has carried that goalscoring form into the 2020-21 campaign, having now netted in his last five Championship matches and found the net seven times overall in that run.

Blackburn Rovers Championship form: LWW
Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions): LLWW

Cardiff City Championship form: LWL
Cardiff City form (all competitions): LLWL


Team News

Lee Tomlin celebrates scoring for Cardiff on February 8, 2020© Reuters

Joe Rankin-Costello has been ruled out for Rovers after sustaining a hamstring injury in the win over Derby - a big blow for Mowbray as the right-back has started the season well.

That will likely mean Ryan Nyambe - a second-half substitute at Pride Park - slotting into an otherwise unchanged back four for the visit of Cardiff.

Meanwhile, Corry Evans and Sam Gallagher have both returned to training this week and are pushing for recalls to the squad.

As for Cardiff, Callum Paterson was the latest player to depart the club this week, joining Sheffield Wednesday in a cut-price deal worth around £500,000.

Harris does still have different options to call upon in attack, with Lee Tomlin battling to be fit after a stop-start opening few weeks to the campaign for the playmaker.

Sheyi Ojo has been disappointing since joining on loan last month and is at risk of being left out for this trip to Lancashire, while Marlon Pack is another whose place is at risk.

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Nyambe, Lenihan, Williams, Bell; Johnson, Holtby, Rothwell; Dolan, Armstrong, Brereton

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Smithies; Osei-Tutu, Morrison, Nelson, Bennett; Ralls, Bacuna; Murphy, Tomlin, Hoilett; Moore


SM words green background

We say: Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Cardiff City

Blackburn have scored goals for fun this season and enter this game in better form than Cardiff, although the Bluebirds do boast one of the best away returns in the division.

Given that the last four league meetings between the sides at Ewood Park have finished level, we are tipping the spoils to be shared on Saturday afternoon.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data

ID:416699: cacheID:416699:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8470:

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Blackburn Rovers win with a probability of 43.51%. A win for Cardiff City had a probability of 30.56% and a draw had a probability of 25.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a Blackburn Rovers win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.5%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.96%) and 2-0 (7.63%). The likeliest Cardiff City win was 0-1 (8.49%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.33%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.2% likelihood.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Derby manager Phillip Cocu on February 8, 2020
Read Next:
Phillip Cocu slams Derby attitude in four-goal defeat to Blackburn
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leicester CityLeicester443041086394794
2Leeds UnitedLeeds44279880374390
3Ipswich TownIpswich432611685533289
4Southampton442591085612484
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4420121267442372
6Norwich CityNorwich442191477611672
7Hull City431812136254866
8Coventry CityCoventry4217121366521463
9Middlesbrough44189176460463
10Preston North EndPreston44189175661-563
11Cardiff CityCardiff44195205061-1162
12Bristol City441611175147459
13Sunderland44168205251156
14Swansea CitySwansea441511185762-556
15Watford441217155958153
16Millwall441411194355-1253
17Stoke CityStoke441311204460-1650
18Queens Park RangersQPR441311204157-1650
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn441310215874-1649
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth441212205869-1148
21Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds44138233968-2947
22Birmingham CityBirmingham441210224864-1646
23Huddersfield TownHuddersfield44917184774-2744
RRotherham UnitedRotherham44412283285-5324


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!