Stoke vs Blackburn prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-11-24 15:00.
Stoke fans may argue the international break came at the wrong time for their side, who had gone five games unbeaten prior to the last pause of 2023 (W3, D2). As if that run wasn’t impressive enough as it moved them closer to the play-off places, the Potters haven’t conceded a goal in over 400 minutes of play, although their last two clean sheets did both come in 0-0 draws
It’s just as well Alex Neil’s side are tight at the back, as they’re suffering at the other end from what he described as a lack of “quality”. It’s easy to see where he’s coming from in that sense too, with Stoke’s tally of 16 goals scored so far this season the joint-fewest in the Championship outside of the bottom four ahead of the round. Nine of those have come at home, where they are unbeaten across their last three games (W2, D1), including an impressive late victory over high-flying Leeds.
It was Blackburn who were on the scoresheet late in this corresponding fixture last season, but their two goals after the 85th minute weren’t enough to avoid a 3-2 defeat. There was late drama in Rovers’ last outing too, when a last-gasp Preston winner saw them leave Ewood Park victorious in a game Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson claimed his side “shouldn’t have lost”.
He went on to label football a “cruel” game, but he’ll be hoping his players can experience the flip side of those emotions here as they seek to end a three-match losing H2H run. Tomasson’s side have proved they have what it takes to bring that run to a halt on the road, winning their last three away league games, and the omens could be in their favour here as five of their last six Championship matches have been won by the away side on the day!
Players to watch: He hasn’t found the net since the opening day of the season, but Ki-Jana Hoever’s luck could change here against the side he netted a first-half brace against last season. Sammie Szmodics is the only Championship player coming into the round with ten goals, scoring Rovers’ last goal in all seven of his scoring appearances this term.
Hot stat: Stoke have failed to score before half-time in eight of their last ten home league games.