Aiming to halt a three-game winless streak, Blackburn Rovers will welcome Stoke City to Ewood Park for a Championship clash on Wednesday night.
Rovers were defeated at the hands of promotion-chasing Sheffield United last time out, whilst the Potters recorded a home success over a newly-promoted club.
Match preview
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Since the narrow 1-0 victory over Swansea City at Ewood Park on October 19, Blackburn Rovers have failed to win any of their three Championship matches against West Bromwich Albion, Watford and Sheffield United, leaving Wednesday's hosts looking nervously over their shoulder in the standings.
Chris Wilder's Blades were the visitors to Lancashire on Saturday afternoon and managed to escape back to Yorkshire possessing maximum points for their considerable efforts, with goals either side of the half-time whistle from Harrison Burrows and Tyrese Campbell downing Rovers.
After collecting just a single point from their last three second-tier contests as the harsh winter months approach, Blackburn have dropped out of the playoffs and down to eighth place in the Championship table, two points back from Carlos Corberan's West Brom in sixth position.
The weekend's defeat to Sheffield United was Rovers' first league loss of the campaign at Ewood Park across seven matches, with John Eustace's troops earning 16 points from seven matches at the venue so far - a tally that only Leeds United, Sunderland, Watford and the aforementioned Blades can match.
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After navigating the majority of their October schedule without success, Stoke City commenced their November calendar on a positive note at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon, when newly-promoted Derby visited Staffordshire and returned to the East Midlands empty-handed.
It looked as if the Rams were set to earn a fought-hard point for their efforts in the Potteries when an own goal from Viktor Johansson cancelled out Tom Cannon's first-half penalty, but the Potters managed to seal three points courtesy of a 82nd-minute strike from defender Ben Gibson.
Ending a four-match winless streak in the second tier with that success over Derby on the weekend, Stoke moved themselves up to 16th in the Championship standings, three points ahead of 22nd-placed Plymouth Argyle and six points behind West Brom in the lowest of the playoff spots.
Lacking a prolific marksman under the stewardship of Alex Neil and Steven Schumacher during the 2023-24 term, the Potters now have a credible focal point in their attack in the form of Leicester City loanee Cannon, who is already attracting interest from clubs higher up the second-tier pecking order.
Team News
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Blackburn Rovers remain without the services of defender Hayden Carter, who was a stalwart for his side before picking up a knee injury in late October.
Rovers' options at the front end of the pitch are limited by the absence of Zak Gilsenan, with the 21-year-old battling back from a muscular issue.
The hosts' possibilities at the back are further reduced by the cruciate ligament injury of Scott Wharton, who has not featured in a competitive sense so far this campaign.
Stoke are battling on without the talents of midfielder Ben Pearson, with the former Preston North End enforcer sidelined due to a hamstring strain.
Cannon will continue to lead the line for the Potters in attack owing to the unavailability of ex-Blackburn striker Sam Gallagher, who has been robbed of a return to Ewood Park by a calf injury.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Brittain, Batth, Hyam, Beck; Tronstad, Travis; Weimann, Dolan, Cantwell; Gueye
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Tchamadeu, Phillips, Gibson, Stevens; Seko, Burge; Manhoef, Moran, Bae; Cannon
We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Stoke City
Despite their struggles against Sheffield United on the weekend, Blackburn are still a solid outfit at their Ewood Park base and should provide a stern test for Stoke on Wednesday night.
The Potters have failed to win any of their last five away contests across all competitions, so we are expecting the visitors to fall short in Lancashire.
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Carter White
