Blackburn vs Stoke prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-08-26 14:00.
The honeymoon period seems to be over for John Dahl Tomasson and his Blackburn Rovers charges, after suffering back-to-back league defeats following his perfect three-game start in English football. With clubs seemingly lining up to prize star man Ben Brereton DĂaz away from the club, a sense of stability may have to wait until the window slams shut.
An experimental side recorded a confidence-boosting comeback win over Bradford in their midweek EFL Cup game, a result which could spur the hosts to continue their impressive 100% winning record at home this term (W3). Another win here would mark Blackburn’s joint-best ever start to a home Championship campaign, on what is the centenary edition of this fixture.
The first of the previous 99 clashes with Stoke City took place 134 years ago at Leamington Road, when Blackburn recorded a 5-2 win, but it is the Potters who have enjoyed the more recent clashes held in Lancashire (W2, D2). They’ll hope that H2H form can lift them here as they’ve started the season poorly by claiming just four points so far (W1, D1, L3), a start which saw boss Michael O’Neill sacked during the week and Dean Holden take interim charge.
Fans may, however, expect a resurgent performance from Stoke here, given that they haven’t lost back-to-back league matches since a run of three ending in March. O’Neill’s unbeaten personal away record at Ewood Park (W1, D2) also provides hope, despite Stoke currently enduring their worst run of away league defeats in over a year (L3).
Players to watch: Injury-plagued Blackburn star Bradley Dack has contributed to three goals in their EFL Cup games this term (G2, A1) and now seeks his first league contribution since April. Seemingly a man on a mission, Stoke’s Jacob Brown is their only man to score 2+ goals, while also recording a career record of consecutive yellow cards over his last three games.
Hot stat: Five of Blackburn’s six Championship goals this term came before the hour mark.