In a match that will have effects on the race for promotion and the battle to stay in the Championship, Blackburn Rovers will welcome Hull City to Ewood Park on Sunday.
The home side are fifth with 38 points after 22 matchweeks and drew 2-2 with Sunderland on Thursday, while Hull are third last in 22nd place with 19 points and lost 1-0 against Preston North End on Boxing Day.
Match preview
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Blackburn occupy one of the division's four promotion playoff spots, and though they are two points from first-placed Leeds United and second-placed Sheffield United – who are in the league's two automatic promotion spots – they do have a game in hand on the four teams above them.
The Riversiders created three big chances and nearly two xG against Sunderland, but considering Sunderland produced four big chances, a draw was ultimately a fair reflection of the game.
Though manager John Eustace will be disappointed that his side conceded twice, he will still be delighted with his players' overall performances out of possession given they have only conceded three goals in their seven most recent games.
Blackburn are winless in their last two matches, but they did triumph in each of the previous six fixtures - beating Hull 1-0 on December 7 - scoring nine goals in that time.
The hosts are unbeaten in their past three outings at Ewood Park – winning two and drawing one – though they lost two and drew one of their prior three at home while also failing to find the back of the net.
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Meanwhile, Hull only created one big chance against Preston, and while they only faced one big chance themselves, the Tigers proved to be vulnerable defensively once again.
In fact, the visitors have conceded in each of their last 20 matches and have only scored five goals in their eight most recent outings.
Boss Ruben Selles suggested that his side's defeat against Preston was due to a lack of ruthlessness, telling reporters: "We created situations to score at least one goal and then in one moment we went 1-0 down and never recovered in terms of the score. I think we were competitive enough."
Selles's team have lost eight of their last 10 games and have only achieved victory once in their last 15 fixtures.
The Tigers' record on the road is poor, with the side having lost their past five away from home by a cumulative score of 8-2.
Team News
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Blackburn will have to contend with numerous absentees, including defenders Scott Wharton, Hayden Carter and Harry Pickering, who is not scheduled to return until March.
Fans can expect to see Callum Brittain, Dominic Hyam, Danny Batth and Owen Beck to appear in a back four.
Lewis Baker and Sondre Tronstad may start in a double pivot considering midfielder Lewis Travis has been ruled out as a result of a hamstring injury, while Todd Cantwell is likely to play in an attacking role behind striker Yuki Ohashi given Arnor Sigurdsson and Zak Gilsenan are unavailable.
Hull will be without goalkeepers Thimothee Lo-Tutala, Harvey Cartwright, Carl Rushworth, as well as defender Andrew Smith.
In light of their absence, Selles could select a back four featuring Lewie Coyle, Alfie Jones, Sean McLoughlin and Ryan Giles in front of goalkeeper Ivor Pandur.
Midfielder Kasey Palmer is set to miss out until late February, while forwards Mohamed Belloumi, Dogukan Sinik and Liam Millar will not appear on Sunday.
Regan Slater, Steven Alzate and Gustavo Puerta are likely to play in midfield behind a front three consisting of Ryan Longman, Joao Pedro Galvao and Mason Burstow.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Brittain, Hyam, Batth, Beck; Baker, Tronstad; Dolan, Cantwell, Hedges; Ohashi
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Coyle, Jones, McLoughlin, Giles; Slater, Alzate, Puerta; Longman, Galvao, Burstow
We say: Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Hull City
Blackburn's record at Ewood Park is far from flawless, and it is difficult to see them winning comfortably on Sunday.
Despite the hosts' mixed showings at home, Hull are in dire form and are also in the midst of an injury crisis, and this should make Blackburn strong favourites.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
