Blackburn vs Stoke prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-02-09 15:00.
Two struggling sides, Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City, who have both been in the Championship since the 2018/19 season without making the play-offs, meet at Ewood Park on Saturday in an all-important clash. The hosts missed out on the top six by virtue of goal-difference last season and by two points in the previous campaign, but ahead of this round of fixtures they find themselves sat down in 18th place and without a league win in eight (D2, L6).
Their latest defeat, a 2-1 home loss to 22nd placed QPR last Saturday, left them only five points above the drop zone heading into this matchday and meant that Rovers have amassed the least number of points of any side in the division since the start of December. Manager Jon Dahl Tomasson is under significant pressure as a result, and he needs to get his defence in line in particular, as the hosts have now failed to keep a clean-sheet across their last 11 home matches (W4, D2, L5)!
Scoring at least one goal in each of their last seven away games (W2, D2, L3), Stoke will be confident of finding the net again this weekend, but manager Steven Schumacher has problems of his own as his side have beaten only bottom-of-the-table Rotherham across their last seven matches (D2, L4). The Potters were thrashed 5-0 at home by runaway league leaders Leicester in their last fixture and find themselves just four points above the relegation zone in 20th ahead of the weekend’s action.
After finishing between 14th and 16th in each of their five seasons back in the second-tier, Stoke will be looking to move back towards mid-table security with three points in Lancashire. Although they were beaten 3-0 at home by Blackburn earlier this season, they haven’t lost in the league at Ewood Park since 2008 (W5, D3).
Players to watch: Blackburn’s Sam Gallagher is in excellent form with two goals and two assists across his last two matches, whilst he’s scored against Stoke on two previous occasions. Midfielder Lewis Baker, who has scored two of Stoke’s five goals in 2024, found the net during their last visit to Ewood Park and his side have won each of the last four times that he’s scored away from home.
Hot stat: Blackburn have played out only one goalless draw in their last 54 games.