Blackburn Rovers welcome Bristol City to Ewood Park in the two sides’ first meeting since the return of Championship football.
Rovers sit tenth in the division on 53 points and are just two behind the Robins who occupy seventh place – one point outside the playoffs.
Championship Preview: Blackburn Rovers v Bristol City
Match Preview
These two sides will still feel promotion is a real possibility this season. Tony Mowbray’s side are just three points behind their Lancashire rivals, Preston North End, who occupy the final play-off spot.
Although form is out of the window as a result of the recent pandemic halting play for a longer period of time than the summer break, Rovers only managed one win in their last five games, so the hiatus may have helped.
As for the Robins, they are one point behind the Lilywhites. Similarly to Rovers, City headed into the break in poor form and were without a win in five, which included defeats against the top two sides in the division.
Team News
Mowbray will be looking to utilise his side’s relatively strong defence. However, ahead of the back four, he is without ten-goal midfielder Bradley Dack, who suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury back in December. Adam Armstrong is the hosts’ leading goalscorer with 11 in the league, with a brace coming at Griffin Park in a 2-2 draw with Brentford in February.
As for City, their defence has been poor. The Robins have a -2 goal difference, having conceded 53 already this season. As a result, Lee Johnson has struggled to find a regular back four, and it could still be a problem despite the break. In attack, Famara Diédhiou and Andreas Weimann have scored 12 and nine respectively.
City also had one unnamed individual at the club test positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.
Head to Head
Blackburn won the reverse fixture at Ashton Gate 2-0 back in December, with Armstrong on the score sheet for the visitors. However, the Robins recorded a league double over Rovers last season, winning 1-0 at Ewood Park.
The last six meetings between the two sides have produced three City wins to the one Rovers victory, with two draws both coming in Lancashire.
Prediction: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Bristol City
Main Photo
