Blackburn Rovers and Derby County get their Championship campaigns underway with a clash at Ewood Park on Friday night.
While Rovers only survived in the second tier on the final day of 2023-24, Derby secured a return to the division with a runners-up finish in League One.
Match preview
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Throughout the second half of last season, it appeared that Blackburn were one of the favourites to go down, a consequence of too many draws being recorded after John Eustace's arrival.
However, collecting 11 points from the final seven matches proved enough to earn a 19th-placed finish, three points above the relegation zone.
While there remains the prospect of last season's star man Sammie Szmodics eventually moving onto pastures new, there is a feeling that Rovers are now in a good place heading into the new campaign.
Defender Danny Batth and playmaker Andreas Weimann both represent shrewd pieces of business, and there will no doubt be some loan additions come through the door in due course.
As for pre-season, Blackburn posted three wins from their six outings, the only reverse coming against second-tier German side Nurnberg on July 20.
Meanwhile, Derby are back in the Championship after Paul Warne guided the Rams to second place in League One behind champions Portsmouth.
Despite a shaky start, the East Midlands outfit were outstanding during the second half of the season, concluding it with eight wins from 11 games to finish five points clear of third position.
Warne and club officials have been extremely busy in the transfer market, with the acquisitions of Ben Osborn and Kayden Jackson from Sheffield United and Ipswich Town having the potential to be difference makers.
Derby endured a three-game losing streak during their pre-season schedule, although they did end it with a morale-boosting 2-1 victory over Real Valladolid.
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Team News
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Blackburn will likely line up with a starting XI that will not be too dissimilar to the one that started against Stockport County last Friday.
The main decision for Eustace will be who to start out of Makhtar Gueye and Yuki Ohashi - two recent signings - down the centre of the attack.
Neither Batth or Weimann even featured on the substitutes' bench at Edgeley Park, the expectation being that they will be selected among the replacements at best here.
Warne may take the same approach with his Derby side, even though he made regular changes during the win over Real Valladolid.
Of the players who were initially kept in reserve, Sonny Bradley and Jerry Yates are most likely to be drafted into the defence and attack respectively.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Brittain, Carter, Hyam, Pickering; Tronstad, Travis; Rankin-Costello, Dolan, Hedges; Gueye
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Vickers; Nyambe, Nelson, Cashin, Elder; Ozoh, Goudmijn, Osborn; Barkhuizen, Jackson, Mendez-Laing
We say: Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Derby County
The opening day of a season is a complete unknown, and that is particularly the case with two well-matched teams squaring off here. Derby will be eager to make an impression, yet we are backing Rovers to make a positive start to their campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
