Seeking to move closer to the Championship playoffs, Blackburn Rovers play host to relegation-threatened Cardiff City at Ewood Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Bluebirds are out for revenge against the hosts after they suffered a 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture in South Wales just under four months ago.
Match preview
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Blackburn are still searching for their first victory under new head coach Valerien Ismael, who has followed up a 1-1 draw with Norwich on home soil with back-to-back away defeats against Derby County (2-1) and Stoke City (1-0), losing to the latter on Wednesday.
An early first-half goal from Stoke’s Ali Al-Hamadi was enough to settle the tight affair, and Ismael has since called for consistency from his players who he believes have enough quality as a group to climb back into the playoff positions.
Blackburn have won 15, drawn seven and lost 15 of their 37 Championship matches this season and they have slipped to ninth in the table, four points behind the top six with nine games left to play, including three of their next five against bottom-half teams.
Rovers will welcome a return to Ewood Park where they have picked up 33 of their 52 points in the second tier this season and have lost only one of their last five matches (W3 D1).
The Lancashire-based outfit also boast an impressive record against Saturday’s opponents Cardiff, as they have only lost one of their last 12 league meetings with the Bluebirds (W6 D5), coming out on top in three of their last four.
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Cardiff’s Championship survival hopes suffered a major blow on Tuesday night when they were beaten 2-1 at home to fellow relegation-threatened side Luton Town.
Calum Chambers opened the scoring for the Bluebirds early in the second half, but their lead was short-lived as Jordan Clark equalised with a stunning 20-yard volley just seven minutes later, before Thelo Aasgaard netted the match-winner for the Hatters 10 minutes from time.
Defeat represents Cardiff’s third in a row and while they remain 21st in the Championship table, they are now hovering just one point above the relegation zone and three from the foot of the table after all three teams below them picked up maximum points last time out.
Cardiff supporters vented their frustration after the full-time whistle in midweek as loud boos reverberated around the Cardiff City Stadium, and under-pressure head coach Omer Riza has since taken “full responsibility” for the Bluebirds’ struggles.
Success on Saturday could prove challenging for Cardiff, as they have failed to win any of their last eight league visits to Blackburn (D5 L3), while they have won only one of their last 20 Championship away matches – beating Watford 2-1 in December.
Team News
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Blackburn’s Augustus Kargbo has been ruled out for around six weeks with a hamstring injury and has joined Harry Pickering, Danny Batth, Harry Leonard, Owen Beck, Scott Wharton and Andreas Weimann in the treatment room.
Ismael is hoping to get the best out of forward Emmanuel Dennis, who briefly played under him at former club Watford and is yet to score for Rovers in three substitute outings since joining on loan in January.
Dennis will likely begin on the bench once again this weekend, though, as Makhtar Gueye – who has eight goals to his name this term – leads the line with Tyrhys Dolan and Todd Cantwell providing support in attack.
As for Cardiff, Aaron Ramsey picked up a hamstring injury in midweek and has joined Jak Alnwick, Joe Ralls, Ollie Tanner and David Turnbull on the sidelines.
Andy Rinomhota remains a doubt having missed the last two games with a hamstring problem. Perry Ng is therefore expected to continue at right-back, while Sivert Mannsverk will likely replace Ramsey and partner Chambers in midfield.
Callum Robinson, who has scored a team-high 12 goals this season, will be hoping to force his way back into the first XI ahead of Yousef Salech, while Chris Willock will be pushing for a recall and could replace either Will Alves or Alex Robertson.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Sanderson, Hyam, Carter; Brittain, Tronstad, Travis, Ribeiro; Cantwell, Dolan; Gueye
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Horvath; Ng, Goutas, Fish, O’Dowda; Chambers, Mannsverk; Alves, Colwill, Willock; Robinson
We say: Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Cardiff City
Both teams are eager to return to winning ways quickly following winless runs of form, but Blackburn will be regarded as favourites on home soil and we are backing them to pick up their first three points of the Ismael era against a Cardiff outfit who have struggled on the road for some time.
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