Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs. Blackburn Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

Meanwhile, the Pilgrims were knocked out of the EFL Cup in midweek as they suffered a 4-2 defeat against Crystal Palace, recording a third successive loss in the process.

Match preview

Plymouth Argyle clinched the League One title in style last term, accumulating a colossal 101 points to fend off Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday, who both finished the campaign with 90+ points.

However, Steven Schumacher's men have struggled for consistency during the early stages of the new season, recording two wins, one draw and three defeats across all competitions, with both victories coming at the start of the campaign.

After kicking off the season with a 3-1 victory over Huddersfield Town, the Pilgrims claimed a 2-0 win against Leyton Orient in the first round of the EFL Cup, but they have failed to taste victory since then.

Following a goalless draw with Watford, the Devon outfit suffered a 2-1 defeat against Southampton before losing to Birmingham City by the same scoreline, meaning that Plymouth find themselves 16th in the Championship table after four matches.

Leading 2-0 midway through the second half, Plymouth looked set to claim a Premier League scalp in the EFL Cup on Tuesday, but Crystal Palace flexed their top-flight muscles late on, with a Jean-Philippe Mateta hat-trick inspiring a 4-2 victory for the Eagles.

While Plymouth were knocked out of the EFL Cup in midweek, Blackburn Rovers advanced to the third round thanks to a mammoth 8-0 crushing of League Two outfit Harrogate Town, with seven different players getting on the scoresheet.

John Buckley bagged a brace in the rout, helping Blackburn achieve the biggest away victory in their 148-year history, while Rovers scored eight goals in a single game for the first time since Boxing Day 1963, when they defeated West Ham United 8-2.

Thanks to Wednesday's triumph, Jon Dahl Tomasson's side have now won four of their six matches across all competitions this season, recording one draw and one loss along the way.

It is worth noting, however, that Blackburn have experienced an indifferent start to their Championship campaign, defeating West Bromwich Albion 2-1 on the opening weekend before drawing with Rotherham United and losing to Hull City.

Still, the Lancashire club returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Watford last weekend, despite facing a barrage of 24 shots while seeing just 34% of the ball, with Ryan Hedges scoring the only goal of the game 18 minutes from time.

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Blackburn Rovers Championship form:

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Team News

Plymouth Argyle are still without injured pair Brendan Galloway and Michael Cooper, who are yet to feature for the club this season as they continue to recover from setbacks.

Steven Schumacher made no fewer than 10 changes to his starting XI for the EFL Cup match against Crystal Palace, with centre-back Dan Scarr the only player to start back-to-back games, so the Pilgrims boss will ring the changes once again this weekend.

Morgan Whittaker, Ryan Hardie and Bali Mumba are expected to return to the forward line in a 4-3-3 formation, while first-choice goalkeeper Conor Hazard will return between the sticks.

Blackburn Rovers also have a couple of injury absentees at the moment, as midfielder Arnor Sigurdsson and forward Jack Vale remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.

Like his counterpart, Jon Dahl Tomasson made multiple changes to his side in midweek, although the Blackburn manager could reward some of Wednesday's standout performers with a place in the starting XI after his team put eight past Harrogate.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Hazard; Edwards, Scarr, Gibson, Kesler-Hayden; Azaz, Houghton, Randell; Whittaker, Hardie, Mumba

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Pears; Rankin-Costello, Carter, Hyam, Brittain; Travis, Wharton; Hedges, Szmodics, Dolan; Leonard

We say: Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Blackburn Rovers

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