Promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers are set to host Coventry City at Ewood Park on Tuesday in a game that could affect the race for promotion in the Championship.
The hosts will be looking to bounce back from a loss last time out, while the visitors are enjoying some of their best form yet under boss Frank Lampard.
Match preview
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John Eustace's Blackburn are fifth in the second tier, and are dreaming of a long-awaited promotion back to the Premier League.
However, having earned 42 points from their 27 games so far, Rovers are just one point above playoff rivals West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Watford, and their poor form has put them in a precarious position ahead of their midweek clash.
Eustace's side have won just one of their last seven Championship matches - a 3-0 victory over Portsmouth earlier this month – and have drawn two while losing the other four in that stretch.
Most recently, Blackburn lost 1-0 on the road to 15th-placed Oxford United, who took all three points thanks to a Cameron Brannagan free kick that Tuesday's hosts were unable to respond to.
This week, Rovers will be desperate to stay in the playoff spots, though given their lacklustre performances lately, including against the division's lesser sides, it will be a tough ask for them to keep ahead of all of their rivals.
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Meanwhile, Lampard's Coventry are comfortable in mid-table, six points above the relegation zone and nine behind their hosts.
The Sky Blues have lost just one of their last five Championship games, winning two and drawing two more since Boxing Day, when they recorded a resounding 4-0 win against Plymouth Argyle.
In their most recent match, Lampard's side beat Bristol City 1-0 in a game of few chances that was decided by a second-half strike from Brandon Thomas-Asante.
That result represented a third consecutive home clean sheet for Coventry and took their unbeaten streak at the Coventry Building Society Arena to six games, though it is notable that the Sky Blues have won just one of their last seven away games in the second tier.
On Tuesday, Lampard's side, who have proven their ability to beat clubs above them in the table, will travel to face a team that are floundering in the playoff spots, but it remains to be seen whether their away form will stop them from picking up another three points this week.
Team News
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Blackburn will be without a number of injured players this week, including defender Hayden Carter, who has been dealing with a knee problem, midfielder Lewis Travis, who has been managing a hamstring injury, and forward Arnor Sigurdsson, who has been out with a thigh problem.
Elsewhere, Scott Wharton is getting closer to a return from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, while Harry Pickering is working his way back from his own knee issue, so expect Eustace to line up with Callum Brittain, Dominic Hyam, Danny Batth and Owen Beck in the backline.
Additionally, Yuki Ohashi, who has made 24 appearances for the hosts this season, will not be back in action until later this month, and perhaps most concerningly, midfielder Sondre Tronstad – who has started every league game for Blackburn this season – picked up a hamstring injury last time out.
In their places, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Todd Cantwell and Andreas Weimann will support striker Makhtar Gueye up top, while Adam Forshaw is likely to patrol the middle of the park alongside John Buckley.
As for Coventry, they are without goalkeeper Ben Wilson, but have an otherwise generally healthy squad.
With this in mind, Oliver Dovin is likely to start between the sticks, protected by a back three of Joel Latibeaudiere, Luis Binks and Liam Kitching.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Brittain, Hyam, Batth, Beck; Forshaw, Buckley; Cozier-Duberry, Cantwell, Weimann; Gueye
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Dovin; Latibeaudiere, Binks, Kitching; Ewijk, Torp, Allen, Rudoni, Dasilva; Thomas-Asante, Simms
We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Coventry City
Blackburn may be in poor form at the moment, but with the pressure mounting on them to get results, they will be desperate to avoid defeat at the very least.
Coventry are in better shape, but their uninspiring away form makes it hard to picture them picking up all three points on Tuesday, so expect a close-fought contest that ends with both sides sharing the spoils.
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