Blackburn Rovers square off against Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon looking for the victory that would create some breathing space between themselves and the Championship relegation zone.
However, such is the competitiveness of the second tier that Rovers will move to within one point of seventh-placed Cardiff in the table with a win at Ewood Park.
Match preview
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Supporters of Blackburn learned last season that life under Jon Dahl Tomasson was not going to be a smooth road, and that has since proven to be the case in 2023-24.
A period of four wins from seven matches was followed by a four-game losing streak, with Rovers conceding 12 goals in the process to slip towards the relegation zone.
In response, Blackburn ran riot at Queens Park Rangers before the international break, thrashing the West Londoners by a 4-0 scoreline to move five points clear of the bottom three.
With Blackburn having greater ambitions than survival, it was a necessary reply from a talented side, yet they will stagnate unless they find some consistency.
Less than a month ago, Blackburn played host to Cardiff in the EFL Cup third round, running out 5-2 victors over a side that had just stunned Sunderland at the Stadium of Light three days earlier.
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Since that setback in the cup, Cardiff appear to have lost their way to a certain degree, and it has been not helped by the injury to key man Aaron Ramsey.
Although they were able to beat lowly Rotherham United, just one point came from matches with Middlesbrough and Watford before the two-week rest period.
Erol Bulut can still be delighted with the start to his reign in South Wales, with Cardiff in eighth spot and within three points of third-placed Preston North End.
Nevertheless, with the chasing pack congregating behind them, Bulut and his side need to find a way to improve their record away from home, just four points coming from their opening five away fixtures of the season.
Team News
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Barring any injury issues from the demolition of QPR, Tomasson could stick with the same Blackburn XI.
Callum Brittain, Lewis Travis and Andrew Moran are all options in various positions if Tomasson wants to make an alteration.
Harry Leonard is available again after a calf issue, but Sam Gallagher remains on the sidelines with a tendon injury.
While Ramsey is out for Cardiff with a knee injury, Bulut will hope that Yakou Meite and Kion Etete are in a position to come back into contention after hamstring problems.
However, providing that there are no fresh injuries, the Turkish boss could name the same side that earned a point versus Watford.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Wahlstedt; Hill, Carter, Hyam, Pickering; Rankin-Costello, Tronstad, Sigurdsson; Markanday, Dolan, Szmodics
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Ng, Goutas, McGuinness, Collins; Wintle, Siopis, Ralls; Tanner, Ugbo, Grant
We say: Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Cardiff City
Despite the difference in league positions, there is an argument that the momentum is with Blackburn heading into this encounter. Nevertheless, Cardiff needed the international break after appearing to run out of steam, and we are backing the Bluebirds to earn a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Darren Plant
