Blackburn Rovers will be looking to put a stop to their horrendous run of form when they host Coventry City in the Championship on Saturday.
Rovers have lost their last five games and are now 15th in the table, while the Sky Blues have also found wins hard to come by of late and sit 20th.
Match preview
© Reuters
Blackburn were beaten 3-2 by promotion-chasing Watford on Wednesday, which an under-pressure Tony Mowbray labelled a "frustrating night". After Ben Brereton's goal in the 82nd-minute gave Rovers hope, they could not find a late equaliser.
This is the first time since April 2012 – when the club were relegated from the Premier League – that they have lost five successive matches, and the run has firmly put to bed their playoff ambitions; indeed, Blackburn are now as close to the top six as they are to the bottom three (10 points).
It does not get any easier for Mowbray and his squad either because after hosting Coventry, four of their following six fixtures are against teams currently in the playoff positions.
Rovers are still the fourth-highest scorers in the Championship but that is largely down to their early-season vigour, and Wednesday night was the first time they had scored two goals in a game since January 2.
They are certainly some way short of the side that beat Coventry 4-0 earlier in the season thanks to a brace from Adam Armstrong and goals from Harvey Elliott and Sam Gallagher.
© Reuters
The contest back in October was the first time the two sides had met in league action this century, but they were regular opponents in the Premier League in the 1990s.
The top flight seems a far cry from the two clubs' current predicaments, although Coventry fans will be thankful to have a club at all given their problems behind the scenes in the last 15 years.
Survival is the aim in their first campaign in the second tier since 2012 and at the moment that is set to be achieved as they are five points above the bottom three.
A run of one win in seven matches may worry manager Mark Robins, but he should take confidence from performances like the one against Swansea City on Wednesday.
Coventry were beaten 1-0 by the promotion-pushing Welsh side, but they held their own at the Liberty Stadium, and the result followed a superb 2-0 victory over Brentford last weekend.
However, the Sky Blues have one of the worst away records in the Championship this season, having won just two out of 16 games on the road, with only Wycombe Wanderers picking up fewer points away from home.
Blackburn Rovers Championship form: WLLLLL
Coventry City Championship form: LDLLWL
Team News
© Reuters
Gallagher and Jacob Davenport missed Blackburn's defeat to Watford with a bruised lung and a torn groin respectively, and Mowbray has confirmed that they will miss the next couple of weeks.
The pair join an already lengthy Rovers injury list that also includes the likes of Lewis Holtby, Bradley Johnson and Darragh Lenihan.
Mowbray may decide to move Bradley Dack back to a central role after starting him on the left on Wednesday night, allowing for Brereton, a scorer as a substitute against Watford, to come back into the side.
After coming off the bench at half time against Swansea, Fankaty Dabo could be in line for his first Coventry start since the end of January.
Robins may otherwise select an unchanged side after two encouraging performances, although Viktor Gyokeres is in contention to start upfront.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Nyambe, Harwood-Bellis, Branthwaite, Douglas; Evans, Rothwell, Dack; Elliott, Armstrong, Brereton
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Wilson; Ostigard, McFadzean, Hyam; Dabo, Kelly, Hamer, McCallum; O'Hare; Gyokeres, Walker
We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Coventry City
Coventry should still be in good spirits despite their midweek loss, while Blackburn's confidence appears to be at rock bottom; if the Sky Blues can overcome their away day issues then they are surely the favourites, but we think that Rovers might snatch a point.
Top tip
Olly Allen
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 47.28%. A win for Coventry City had a probability of 26.82% 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 11.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.21%) and 2-0 (8.69%). The likeliest Coventry City win was 0-1 (8.22%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.3%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.3% likelihood.
