Separated by just three points in the top six of the Championship table, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United will meet in an important contest at Ewood Park on Saturday.
The visitors moved back up to fourth spot with a return to winning ways at the weekend, while their hosts will bid to bounce back from a draw and a defeat in their last two outings.
Match preview
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Blackburn Rovers return to Ewood Park on Saturday aiming to bounce back to winning ways and rejoin the Championship's leading pack.
After eventually confirming their survival with a 19th-placed finish last time around, the Lancashire outfit have shown notable signs of improvement under the management of John Eustace so far this season, currently sitting sixth having earned 19 points from their first 12 outings.
That was in no small part down to their fast start, though, and the Rovers now find themselves in the midst of a dip in form, having picked up just one win and four of those points in the last five attempts, with the solitary victory coming at home to Swansea City after the October international break.
Tyrhys Dolan's winner in that game has been the Rovers' only one in their three since the break, as a creditable stalemate with West Bromwich Albion then followed before Eustace's men most recently visited Watford on Saturday and left empty-handed as Edo Kayembe fired the hosts to a 1-0 win from the penalty spot.
Now aiming to maintain a near-perfect home record, having won each of their first five games at Ewood Park before last week's draw with West Brom, Blackburn Rovers will be keen to bounce back and strengthen their position in the top six with the chance to move level on points with their visitors at the weekend.
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They face a tough test, though, as the visitors arrive aiming to make it back-to-back wins on Saturday in a bid to climb into the automatic promotion spots at the weekend.
Sheffield United make the trip across to Lancashire with a degree of renewed confidence, having bounced back at the weekend after seeing a fine start to their Championship promotion bid halted on their return from the international break.
Indeed, the Blades went into the break with the division's only unbeaten streak intact, having overcome a two-point deduction to sit in the top two after nine games, but they would go on to suffer back-to-back losses away at Leeds United and Middlesbrough on their return last month, failing to score in the process.
Aiming to put that disappointment behind them, Chris Wilder's men hosted Stoke City at Bramall Lane on Saturday and sealed their seventh league victory of the campaign, as Kieffer Moore opened the scoring in the 14th minute and Tyrese Campbell doubled their lead early in the second half.
Having returned to fourth spot with that triumph, now only trailing third and second spots by a single point, Sheffield United will be desperate to correct their tough away run with another important victory on Saturday.
Team News
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John Eustace may opt to make several changes to his Blackburn Rovers starting XI from last week's defeat to Watford, with Scott Wharton and Hayden Carter remaining sidelined by injuries.
Yuki Ohashi and Tyrhys Dolan will both fight to return to the attacking setup from the outset, after Todd Cantwell, Andreas Weimann and Ryan Hedges lined up in support of Makhtar Gueye at Vicarage Road.
Sondre Tronstad and Lewis Travis remain key men in the engine room, while Dominic Hyam and Danny Batth will continue to partner up at the heart of a back four.
Sheffield United make the trip to Ewood Park without key defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, who will serve a suspension after picking up a fifth yellow card of the season in their win over Stoke City last time out, meaning Jack Robinson should come in and make a first appearance since mid-August alongside Harry Souttar.
Gustavo Hamer will return from his own suspension, though, and he should come straight back in on the left flank, while Vinicius Souza and Oliver Arblaster will again partner up in the midfield.
Wilder has an abundance of options in attack, with Tyrese Campbell having joined Kieffer Moore up front and scored last time out with support from Callum O'Hare and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, while Hamer, Andre Brooks and Rhian Brewster have claims to feature on Saturday.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Brittain, Hyam, Batth, Beck; Tronstad, Travis; Dolan, Weimann, Cantwell; Gueye
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Gilchrist, Souttar, Robinson, Burrows; Souza, Arblaster; Rak-Sakyi, O'Hare, Hamer; Moore
We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Sheffield United
Sheffield United face a particularly tough test in their bid to make it back-to-back wins on Saturday, as they take on the league's second-strongest home side, and we anticipate a tight contest at Ewood Park.
We would not be surprised to see the points shared in a result which may please both sides.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
