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Championship | Gameweek 9

Oct 31, 2020 at 3pm UK

Liberty Stadium

Swansea
2 - 0
Blackburn

Cabango (25'), Ayew (61')
Ayew (19'), Bidwell (30'), Cabango (55')

FT(HT: 1-0)

Preview: Swansea City vs. Blackburn Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

By Alex Mills | 29 October 2020

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship fixture between Swansea City and Blackburn Rovers, including predictions, team news and lineups.

Swansea City welcome the division's top scorers on Saturday as Blackburn Rovers look to bounce back from defeat to league-leaders Reading.

The Swans completed a resounding win against Stoke City in midweek, which leaves them within one point of the top two.

Match preview

Swansea City's Jay Fulton celebrates with teammates after scoring againt Stoke City in the Championship on October 27, 2020 © Reuters

Jay Fulton was again on target as he opened the scoring on Wednesday night, and Steve Cooper was quick to heap praise on the midfielder after his stunning strike set the tone for Swansea to go on a take all three points.

The win ended a three-game winless streak for Swansea, but they are still well-positioned and will look to keep the pressure on Bournemouth with a second home win inside four days.

After failing in last season's playoffs, Swansea look ready to go again having only lost once in their opening eight games.

The forthcoming fixtures will be a true test for Steve Cooper's men. After facing Tony Mowbray's Blackburn side, they travel to Brentford and then welcome Norwich City at home.

Adam Armstrong celebrates scoring for Blackburn Rovers on September 19, 2020 © Reuters

Adam Armstrong was again on the scoresheet on Tuesday, but it was not enough to prevent his team going down 4-2 to an irresistible Reading side.

In a matchup where Blackburn, the league's top scorers, met the division's best defence in Reading, it was the Royals who were dishing out the goals, scoring three in the opening 18 minutes.

Mowbray will be disappointed that Rovers weren't able to keep pace with the Royals, but will take heart from their ability to stay in the game, twice pulling Reading back to within a goal.

Despite scoring a league-high 18 goals, Rovers have also conceded the most goals in the top half, and will be looking to shore things up in the coming weeks to better their record, which includes three losses in their last four outings.

Swansea City Championship form: DWWLDDW

Blackburn Rovers Championship form: WWDLLWL

Team News

Swansea City's Andre Ayew scores against Coventry City on October 20, 2020 © Reuters

Swansea's leading scorer Andre Ayew will again lead the line at home to Rovers, with veteran Wayne Routledge pushing for an opportunity to be part of the matchday squad.

That said, Cooper is not expected to make any changes from the side that overcame Stoke on Tuesday.

Tony Mowbray finds himself in a similar position to Cooper in that he is unlikely to make any changes to his starting lineup.

Aynsley Pears is expected to cover for Thomas Kaminski as he recovers from injury.

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Cabango, Bennett, Guehi; Roberts, Smith, Fulton, Grimes, Bidwell; Lowe, Ayew

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Nyambe, Lenihan, Williams, Bell; Trybull, Holtby, Johnson; Elliott, Armstrong, Brereton

SM words green background

We say: Swansea City 2-2 Blackburn Rovers

Any fixture that involves Blackburn Rovers tends to equal goals so far this season, and we expect to see more of the same. Rovers have been hit and miss away from home this season, but we see them getting a point at the Liberty, where Swansea have been equally inconsistent.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

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 Swansea City win with a probability of 41.4%. A win for Blackburn Rovers had a probability of 31.34% and a draw had a probability of 27.3%.

The most likely scoreline for a Swansea City win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.51%) and 2-0 (7.66%). The likeliest Blackburn Rovers win was 0-1 (9.77%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.89%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Swansea City would win this match.