Preview: Blackburn Rovers vs. Burnley - prediction, team news, lineups

Burnley volition marque the abbreviated travel to Ewood Park for Saturday's derby clash against arch-rivals Blackburn Rovers.

The Clarets are sitting successful 2nd spot successful the Championship table, portion Blackburn are 10 points further backmost successful 5th position.

Match preview

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Blackburn whitethorn inhabit a top-six spot successful the 2nd tier, but they person seen their automatic promotion hopes dented by a four-game winless run.

John Eustace's broadside person taken conscionable 2 points from 4 matches since they recorded a 2-0 location triumph implicit Luton Town connected December 14.

Blackburn suffered constrictive defeats against Millwall and Hull City, either broadside of a 2-2 gully against Sunderland, earlier they rescued a constituent successful their New Year's Day clash against Leeds United.

Danny Batth scored a melodramatic equaliser conscionable moments aft Leeds' Pascal Struijk looked to person won the crippled with an 88th-minute penalty.

After ending Leeds' nine-game winning location run, Rovers volition present instrumentality to Ewood Park for Saturday's East Lancashire derby, with the visitors looking to assertion their archetypal triumph implicit Burnley since signaling a 1-0 Premier League triumph successful March 2010.

However, that whitethorn beryllium easier said than done owed to Blackburn's caller inconsistency astatine home, with their past 7 location league games producing 2 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats.

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Burnley volition caput into the play successful 2nd spot aft winning 13, drafting 10 and losing conscionable 2 of their 25 league games this season.

The Clarets person enactment unneurotic a 12-game unbeaten tally since losing to Millwall connected November 3, though they person had to settee for goalless draws successful their past 2 outings against Middlesbrough and Stoke City.

While they were incapable to instrumentality maximum points from those 2 games, they volition beryllium pleased with the information they person present recorded 3 consecutive cleanable sheets, highlighting 1 of the cardinal factors down their promotion push.

In fact, Scott Parker's broadside person conceded conscionable 9 goals successful 25 Championship matches this season, giving them the champion antiaircraft grounds successful the division.

They volition present beryllium looking to nutrient a beardown distant show connected their travels, having recorded 5 cleanable sheets successful their erstwhile six roadworthy trips.

Burnley volition anticipation a beardown defence tin laic the instauration for different beardown derby performance, arsenic they look to widen their 10-game unbeaten tally successful head-to-head meetings with Blackburn (W6, D4).

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:

Burnley Championship form:

Team News

© Imago

Blackburn are incapable to telephone upon Lewis Travis and Arnor Sigurdsson owed to hamstring and calf injuries respectively.

The brace are joined connected the sidelines by Scott Wharton, Arnor Sigurdsson and Hayden Carter, who are ruled retired with genu problems

Midfielder Todd Cantwell volition person to beryllium assessed aft helium missed the caller gully against Leeds done illness.

As for the visitors, they are incapable to telephone upon Enock Agyei, Jordan Beyer, Manuel Benson, Aaron Ramsey, Mike Tresor and Nathan Redmond.

Former Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri volition commencement a three-match prohibition aft being sent disconnected for convulsive behaviour successful the second stages of Wednesday's gully with Stoke.

Parker could marque a fig of changes to his starting lineup, with Bashir Humphreys, Josh Laurent and Zian Flemming each pushing for recalls.

Blackburn Rovers imaginable starting lineup:
Pears; Brittain, Hyman, Batth, Beck; Tronstad, Baker; Cozier-Duberry, Hedges, Dolan; Ohashi

We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Burnley

Burnley person proven to beryllium a pugnacious squad to beat, having avoided decision successful each of their past 12 Championship matches.

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