Blackburn Rovers and Queens Park Rangers get their Championship campaign underway with a fixture at Ewood Park on Saturday afternoon.
Both clubs have new managers at the helm with Jon Dahl Tomasson being appointed by the Rovers hierarchy and Michael Beale departing Villa Park for QPR.
Match preview
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For the first time since their return to the Championship in 2017, Blackburn begin a season without Tony Mowbray in the dugout, the experienced boss having decided to end his stint at Rovers in the summer.
However, despite a new era beginning at Ewood Park under Tomasson, the Dane has, so far, not made sweeping changes to his first-team squad.
The only significant addition is that of Callum Brittain, who has joined from Barnsley, and the Blackburn supporters will feel underwhelmed given the amount of senior players who have already departed for pastures new.
Nevertheless, Blackburn still possess enough quality players to put out a strong starting lineup on Saturday, giving Tomasson extra time to add strength-in-depth to his senior crop.
A pre-season which saw three wins and two draws come from six matches concluded with a narrow 1-0 success away at Lincoln City last weekend.
Like their hosts, QPR are also preparing for a fresh start with Mark Warburton, who had been in charge for three seasons and 150 games, being replaced by former Villa assistant Beale.
Having spent several years working alongside Steven Gerrard, the time felt right for Beale to take his opportunity to become the leading man in the dugout.
The 2021-22 campaign ended disappointingly for QPR, the Hoops dropping down to 11th position, but it gave Beale the freedom to stamp his own authority on the squad.
Four first-team signings have been made to complement the losses of numerous key men, and defender Jake Clarke-Salter and Leeds United loanee Tyler Roberts will be expected to play pivotal roles this season.
After previously being unbeaten during pre-season, QPR ended their preparations with a 3-0 home defeat against Crystal Palace last weekend.
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Team News
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Tomasson could hand a debut to Brittain with the right-back having played the second half against Lincoln.
Sam Gallagher should be available despite missing that fixture, the forward potentially taking the place of either Tyrhys Dolan or Ryan Hedges in the final third.
Daniel Ayala is also expected to return to the centre of defence, likely leaving Hayden Carter to be named among the replacements.
Despite losing convincingly to Palace last weekend, Beale may be prepared to name the same QPR XI from that match.
However, the quartet of Chris Willock, Luke Amos, Roberts and Taylor Richards may all be selected on the substitutes' bench.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Brittain, Ayala, S. Wharton, Pickering; Travis, Buckley, Dack; Dolan, Gallagher, Brereton Diaz
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Kakay, Dickie, Clarke-Salter, Paal; Field, Johansen, Dozzell; Adomah, Chair, Dykes
We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
While both managers will want to make the perfect start with their new sides, they will be equally wary of starting their reign with a defeat. With that in mind, do not be surprised to see a relatively uneventful encounter, one which may end in a low-scoring draw.
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