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

Rovers shared the spoils with an out-of-form Cardiff City outfit on Tuesday night, while the Canaries have been afforded a full week to revel in their success over the Bluebirds.

Match preview

Three games into John Eustace's reign as Blackburn boss and the ex-Birmingham City head coach is yet to earn his first victory for the Lancashire club, with the 44-year-old losing to his former employers during his maiden match in charge before back-to-back draws against local rivals Preston North End and Cardiff.

Rovers travelled to the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night to face the Bluebirds but were unable to breach the net of Ethan Horvath in the hosts' net despite having one of the division's leading goalscorers in their ranks, with Sammie Szmodics netting 18 second-tier goals so far.

Although the former Peterborough United is doing his best to fill the talismanic hole left by Ben Brereton Diaz, Blackburn are not firing as they did last season under Jon Dahl Tomasson, with Saturday's hosts currently 16th in the Championship standings, 16 points behind the playoffs.

Conceding goals has been a real issue for the Lancashire club so far in 2023-24, with Rovers allowing 59 strikes into their net during 33 second-tier matches - only Leam Richardson's basement dwellers Rotherham United (64) have suffered from a leakier defence in the entire division.

Like a number of the sides in the Championship, Blackburn looked to the Premier League loan market in order to boost their ranks during the January transfer window, with Ben Chrisene and Yasin Ayari joining on temporary deals from Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively.

Norwich have cemented themselves as serious runners in the top-six race, collecting 10 points from four Championship clashes since the beginning of February, enjoying back-to-back home wins against Watford and Cardiff over the past 10 days, scoring eight goals in the process.

Back to his scintillating best following an injury lay-off, American Joshua Sargent bagged a brilliant brace against Erol Bulut's Bluebirds last weekend in East Anglia, with Gabriel Sara and summer signing Christian Fassnacht also getting onto the scoresheet to secure a 4-1 success.

David Wagner faced plenty of criticism during the opening stages of the 2023-24 season, when his side looked destined for a mid-table finish, but a run of one defeat in their last eight Championship matches has allowed Norwich to move up to eighth in the league table, just three points behind Hull City in sixth.

Despite being on the coattails of Liam Rosenior's Tigers in the ever-intensifying pursuit of a top-six berth, the Canaries need to improve their away form to give themselves a chance of reaching the Premier League via the playoffs, with Saturday's visitors only collecting 16 points on the road so far this campaign.

That being said, Blackburn possess a marvellous recent record at Ewood Park, having won five-straight matches at Blackburn's Lancashire base dating back to a 2-1 victory in February 2015, when goals from Cameron Jerome and Bradley Johnson for the Canaries cancelled out Alex Baptiste's opener.

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:

D

L

W

L

D

D

Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions):

W

L

W

L

D

D

Norwich City Championship form:

W

L

W

D

W

W

Norwich City form (all competitions):

L

L

W

D

W

W

Team News

Blackburn will remain without the services of midfielder John Fleck until the middle of March, with the former Sheffield United enforcer picking up a calf injury during the match against Preston.

Rovers have recently lost a defensive duo to hamstring issues, with Hayden Carter and Harry Pickering sidelined until March and April respectively.

Eustace could opt to rotate his attacking options after his side failed to score at Cardiff on Tuesday, meaning that Tyrhys Dolan may return to the XI at the expense of Swede Ayari.

Norwich are light on options in the centre of their defence due to the absence of Shane Duffy, so Kenny McLean and fit-again Grant Hanley will continue in the backline.

Wagner likes to rotate his left-backs depending on the opposition, meaning that it is difficult to know whether Sam McCallum or Dimitrios Giannoulis will start at Ewood Park.

After missing the 4-1 success over Cardiff due to illness, Ben Gibson is available for selection this weekend and could be reintegrated into the starting XI immediately.

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Pears; Hyam, McFadzean, Wharton; Brittain, Tronstad, Garrett, Chrisene; Dolan, Szmodics, Gallagher

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Gunn; Stacey, Gibson, McLean, McCallum; Nunez, Sara, Hernandez, Barnes, Sainz; Sargent

We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Norwich City

Eustace has managed to keep Blackburn competitive in all three matches since taking the job, but the visit of Norwich is set to be the toughest task since the 44-year-old joined the club.

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