On Saturday afternoon, Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End, two teams from the same area, will play again in the Championship.
If Preston wins at Ewood Park, they’ll get within two points of the hosts, who are now in third place, despite being in the lower half of the table themselves.
EFL Championship Match Preview: Blackburn vs Preston
Blackburn hasn’t had the best season, losing nine of their first 21 Championship games, but manager Jon Dahl Tomasson is still likely to be pleased with his team’s overall performance.
Prevailing in the other 12 matches put Rovers in third place before the World Cup break, five points back of the leaders and the same number clear of the seventh position.
Last time out’s 3-0 loss to a division opponent and league leaders Burnley was disheartening, especially given the blitzing second-half comeback by the Clarets at Turf Moor.
Despite this, Tomasson will be willing to take a step back and assess the more comprehensive picture, knowing that a victory this weekend would all but guarantee a top-six finish for Rovers.
Blackburn played friendlies against Hearts and Ajax last weekend, winning both games with scorelines of four goals.
Meanwhile, Preston has played St. Johnstone and Leeds United in friendlies, with the former concluding in a 3-0 win and the latter’s outcome yet uncertain.
Nonetheless, the four wins out of the last six matches were valuable playing time for Ryan Lowe’s club.
Even if their 4-2 home loss to Millwall wasn’t significant, Lowe has to be pleased that his squad is still tied for sixth place in the standings with two games to go.
Even though Preston has the second-worst offensive record in the league, they have scored in five of their past six games. This should give them confidence heading into one of their most anticipated games of the year.
EFL Championship Team News: Blackburn vs Preston
After the back three strategies didn’t work against Burnley, Tomasson will probably return to the tried and true defensive four.
Midfielder Sammie Szmodics is expected to play again, while left defender Harry Pickering is also scheduled to play again, with Callum Brittain swapping sides.
Both Sam Gallagher and Jack Vale are questionable with injuries, but one of them will likely take the offensive reins.
Preston’s Troy Parrott is still out with a hamstring injury he received on October 8.
Even if Alvaro Fernandez and Ben Woodburn are in the running for recalls, Lowe is not expected to make sweeping changes from the last outing.
- Blackburn Rovers Predicted Starting Lineup: Kaminski, Hyam, Ayala, Brittain, Pickering, Travis, Hedges, Morton, Szmodics, Brereton, Gallagher.
- Preston North End Predicted Starting Lineup: Storey, Lindsay, Woodman, Hughes, Ledson, Browne, Potts, Brady, McCann, Riis Jakobsen, Evans.
EFL Championship Match Prediction: Blackburn 2-1 Preston
Since we can throw the rulebook out the window, picking a winner is tricky. Preston will feel confident in their ability to pull off an upset, but we cannot trust them against a club with one of the greatest home records in the division and no draws to their name.
