Blackburn Rovers will welcome League One side Doncaster Rovers to Ewood Park on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the EFL Cup.
The home side have played two friendlies since ending their 2019-20 Championship campaign away to Luton Town on July 22, while Doncaster have taken part in three pre-season matches since the middle of August.
Match preview
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The majority of the first round of the EFL Cup will be played in early September, but this particular match had to be brought forward due to a number of Blackburn players being called up for international duty.
Tony Mowbray's side ended their 2019-20 Championship campaign with a 3-2 defeat at Luton Town on July 22, which saw them finish in 11th spot in the table, seven points off the playoff positions.
Blackburn have played two friendlies since their last competitive match, recording a 4-1 victory at Fleetwood Town on August 22 before running out 3-1 winners away to Blackpool on August 25.
The Championship side actually have another pre-season clash against Everton on September 1 before beginning their new Championship campaign away to Bournemouth on September 12.
Blackburn, who lost at Sheffield United in the second round of last season's EFL Cup, will be taking on Doncaster for just the second time in this competition, running out 4-2 winners on home soil in January 1970 in their last clash.
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Doncaster, meanwhile, are gearing up for their first competitive game in five months, having seen their 2019-20 League One season brought to a premature end due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Rovers have not actually played a non-friendly game since beating MK Dons on March 7, and they ultimately claimed ninth position in the table, despite being in with a chance of the playoffs at the time.
The third-tier side have played three friendlies since August 15, beating Scunthorpe United 3-2 before losing at Bradford City and drawing away to Derby County in their last two.
Darren Moore's side will take on Blackburn this weekend before facing Bradford City in the EFL Trophy on September 8 ahead of their league opener at home to MK Dons on September 12.
Blackburn EFL Cup form: LWWLWL
Doncaster EFL Cup form: WWLWLL
Team News
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Blackburn could hand a debut to new signing Thomas Kaminski between the sticks, while the likes of Lewis Holtby and Adam Armstrong should also start.
Ben Brereton scored a brace in his side's friendly victory over Blackpool last time out, and the 21-year-old is likely to keep his spot in the final third of the field.
Doncaster, meanwhile, could hand an official debut to winger Jason Lokilo following his arrival on a one-year contract, while fellow new arrival Taylor Richards could also feature in the middle of the park.
Kieran Sadlier and Devante Cole are amongst those to have moved on this summer, though, meaning that there will be changes from their last competitive match back in March.
Blackburn possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Nyambe, Lenihan, Carter, Rankin-Costello; Holtby, Travis, Johnson, Rothwell; Armstrong, Brereton
Doncaster possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Halliday, Wright, Anderson, Amos; Blair, Whiteman; Lokilo, Ramsey, Antonio; Taylor
We say: Blackburn 2-1 Doncaster
It is difficult to know exactly what to expect from both sides this weekend, but it should be an open and entertaining contest at Ewood Park. Doncaster are certainly capable of making it a tough game, although we fancy Blackburn to book their spot in the second round of the competition.
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 41.76%. A win for Doncaster Rovers had a probability of 32.27% and a draw had a probability of 26%.
The most likely scoreline for a Blackburn Rovers win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.11%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.79%) and 2-0 (7.21%). The likeliest Doncaster Rovers win was 0-1 (8.66%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.34%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 2.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Blackburn Rovers would win this match.
