Bosnia And Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
South Africa
South Korea
United Arab Emirates

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

sportsmole.co.uk, 2 September 2022, 02:44
Two sides hoping to build on midweek Championship victories will square off on Saturday, as Bristol City travel to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers.

The visitors make the trip having won three of their last four league outings, while their hosts returned to winning ways last time out after a dip in form.

Match preview

Following Jon Dahl Tomasson's appointment as manager over the summer, Blackburn have already experienced a mixed run of form, having started quickly with back-to-back wins over Queens Park Rangers and Swansea City.

The Lancashire outfit then made it three victories from three league games with a hard-fought 2-1 beating of West Bromwich Albion, courtesy of goals from Ben Brereton Diaz and Sam Gallagher, but they were unable to stretch their perfect record any further, losing 3-0 away at Reading in the following encounter.

Rovers' trip to Sheffield United then ended in a defeat by the same scoreline, and, after an EFL Cup second-round win away at Bradford City, their slump in the league continued last weekend as Lewis Baker's goal made the difference in a 1-0 loss at home to Stoke City.

Hoping to bounce back from their tough run and establish consistency in England's second tier, Tomasson's side travelled to Blackpool on Wednesday, and they were able to make a return to winning ways as Brereton Diaz netted the only goal in a 1-0 away victory, securing a fourth three-point haul of the campaign.

Having now put themselves back in the leading pack with that win, moving on to 12 points from seven outings, Blackburn will hope to build another winning run starting on Saturday but face a tough test against a confident Brostol City side.

The visitors' start to the league campaign has been somewhat contrasting with that of their hosts, as they began with consecutive defeats to Hull City and Sunderland before only being able to draw away at Wigan Athletic as Andreas Weimann's early opener was cancelled out.

Sitting on just a single point from three Championship outings, the Robins were then able to put an important first win on the board at home to Luton Town, as Nakhi Wells and Tommy Conway netted goals in the first 30 minutes before they headed into a Severnside Derby against Cardiff City at Ashton Gate.

Nigel Pearson's men would win by the same scoreline in that contest, with Conway again on the scoresheet alongside Rob Atkinson as they got one over on their rivals and quickly moved onto seven points from five games.

The Robins were then left disappointed by a 3-3 draw away at Blackpool, as Theo Corbeanu drew their hosts level in the 90th minute after Pearson's side moved into a lead through Conway, Antoine Semenyo and Marvin Ekpiteta, but it did not take them long to bounce back, recording a 2-0 home win over Huddersfield Town on Wednesday as Wells opened the scoring and Semenyo sealed the points in the 80th minute.

While all their wins have come at home thus far, Bristol City will travel north with plenty of confidence given their recent improvement and will aim to translate that Ashton Gate form into Saturday's contest.

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:

Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions):

Bristol City Championship form:

Bristol City form (all competitions):

Team News

Blackburn Rovers will likely remain without full-back Callum Brittain and winger Sammie Szmodics due to injuries, and Tomasson has far more options to replace the latter, with Lewis Travis again likely to deputise on the right-hand side of the back four in Brittain's absence.

Having successfully fended off interest in the transfer window, they will again be able to deploy attacker Ben Brereton Diaz, who has already found the net three times in the league this season after scoring 22 goals in 37 Championship appearances last time around.

Competition may be limited in attack, in the anticipated continued absence of front man Sam Gallagher, with Bradley Dack, Tyrhys Dolan and Ryan Hedges all set to keep their places around Brereton Diaz, while John Buckley will hope to come back into the midfield in place of either Adam Wharton or Tyler Morton.

Bristol City are unlikely to make many changes for Saturday's game, particularly in attack, with the front three of Andreas Weimann, Nakhi Wells and Tommy Conway set to cause major problems, having already scored a combined tally of eight goals this term.

Weimann, who notched up 22 goals and 10 assists on his own in the league last term, will likely play just behind the pair of Wells and Conway in a 3-4-1-2 setup, with Matty James set to join 19-year-old Alex Scott in the midfield.

Further back, summer signing Kal Naismith will continue to command the back three in front of goalkeeper Daniel Bentley, likely alongside Zak Vyner and Rob Atkinson.

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Travis, Ayala, Hyam, Pickering; Morton, Buckley; Hedges, Dack, Brereton Diaz; Dolan

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

Bentley; Vyner, Naismith, Atkinson; Sykes, James, Scott, Dasilva; Weimann; Conway, Wells

We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Bristol City

Previews by email

Top News

16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will continue their La Liga campaign with a contest against Rayo Vallecano on Monday night. 16 February 2025 talksport.com The Premier League has another blockbuster gameweek in the history books and talkSPORT has all the latest reaction. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have lost 12 of their first 25 Premier League matches of the 2024-25 campaign, which is their most at this stage of a season since 1973-74, when they had 13 defeats from their opening 25 league fixtures. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Making their first CONCACAF Champions Cup appearance since 2019, Sporting Kansas City host Inter Miami in the opening leg of their first-round tie at Children's Mercy Park on Tuesday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is confident that the Red Devils will be able to "recover some players" for their next match away to Everton in the Premier League on February 22. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk James Maddison scored the only goal of the match as Tottenham Hotspur recorded a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in Sunday's Premier League contest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have made contact with Greek giants Olympiacos to discuss a double deal for fledgling duo Charalampos Kostoulas and Christos Mouzakitis, according to a report. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Arne Slot appeared unfazed by the nervy end to Liverpool's win over Wolves on Sunday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool boss Arne Slot has admitted that he does not know whether Cody Gakpo will be fit for Wednesday's Premier League encounter with Aston Villa. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have reportedly learned how long Kobbie Mainoo's injury will sideline the teenage midfielder for. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Vitor Pereira has claimed that his side showed "too much respect" to Liverpool in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Anfield. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Tottenham star James Maddison has opened his account in 2025 - and fans think he aimed a sly dig at Roy Keane during his celebration. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Tottenham's owners are under attack again, this time from one of their own. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool suffered an unwanted club first in their unconvincing 2-1 Premier League success over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Carlos Alcaraz emulated his 'inspiration' Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring his first Everton goal. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, David Beckham, Luis Figo, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Leeds United have reportedly identified a Serie A defender as a potential summer transfer target. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid are reportedly determined to win the race for Ajax youngster Jorrel Hato. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool were not made to pay for a lackadaisical second half as they re-established a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a nervy 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Jude Bellingham's third career red card could have him in very big trouble indeed. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has confirmed that Ronald Araujo will be available for Monday's La Liga clash with Rayo Vallecano. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are missing 12 senior players for Sunday's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur in North London. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Antony's future at Manchester United remains shrouded in mystery - despite his electric start to life at Real Betis. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has confirmed his starting XI for Sunday's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur in North London. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal are reportedly prepared to rival Chelsea for highly-rated Deportivo La Coruna attacker Yeremay Hernandez. 16 February 2025 talksport.com If there was any doubt about Trent Alexander-Arnold's status as a Liverpool legend, his latest feat has put that to bed. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have reportedly identified Atalanta star Charles de Ketelaere as a potential replacement for Kevin De Bruyne. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Erling Haaland celebrated Manchester City's victory over Newcastle with a mighty lamb chop to give fans a glimpse into his whopping diet. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal wing wizard Ethan Nwaneri broke a Premier League record in his 'Lionel Messi-like' performance against Leicester City on Saturday afternoon. 16 February 2025 talksport.com Liverpool boss Arne Slot will be on the touchline against Wolves this afternoon despite receiving a red card against Everton.
there is nothing here yet