On Saturday afternoon, Blackburn Rovers vs Millwall intending to pick up a victory that would put the club back in the hunt for a berth in the Championship playoffs.
If Millwall is victorious at Ewood Park, they will move one spot higher in the rankings than their seventh-placed hosts, who are now in sixth. This is even though six spots currently separate the two teams.
Our Match Preview: Blackburn Rovers vs Millwall
In his first seven games as Blackburn’s manager, Jon Dahl Tomasson has a losing record of five. He cannot say that things are going according to plan.
Despite this promising start, Blackburn finds itself in an unenviable seventh place, three points off of third; hardly a situation worthy of celebration.
The renowned Dane will be disheartened by the 2-0 loss his team suffered against Luton Town just before the international break, with both goals coming in nine minutes of the second half.
Rovers’ inconsistency was highlighted by the fact that this loss occurred only four days after a stunning victory against Watford, but there are still more positives than negatives to be drawn from their first 10 matches.
There is a need for more consistent scoring, as only Ben Brereton Diaz and Lewis Travis have scored more than once in the league this year. Millwall’s recent record mirrors that of the hosts, who have also lost four of their past six Second Division matches.
However, in two of their last three games, the Lions have come out on top, with victory over Cardiff City and Blackpool at home.
All but one of Gary Rowett’s team’s 13 Championship points have come at The Den this season. Their lone away tie came against Swansea City, thanks to two own goals scored in stoppage time.
Rowett isn’t happy with his team’s play this year, but the London club is close to clinching a playoff position heading into this match.
Our Team News: Blackburn Rovers vs Millwall
Tomasson will almost definitely make several adjustments to his starting lineup for Blackburn, and George Hirst will be pressing for a chance to play amid the attack.
It is anticipated that Callum Brittain will return to his position as a right wing-back, while Sammie Szmodics, who suffered a concussion but is expected to make a full recovery, will be included in the team once again.
Sam Gallagher will also be returning to the matchday squad, but he may have to settle for a position among the substitutes.
Even though Rowett could be able to call in Shaun Hutchinson and Mason Bennett, he might be content to stay with the same squad that beat Blackpool by a narrow margin.
If this were to occur, players like Jake Cooper and George Honeyman would be able to keep their starting positions for Millwall XI.
- Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup: Kaminski, Hyam, Ayala, Wharton, Brittain, Travis, Morton, Pickering, Hedges, Hirst, Brereton Diaz.
- Millwall possible starting lineup: Long, Cresswell, Cooper, Wallace, Shackleton, Mitchell, Styles, Malone, Honeyman; Flemming, Afobe.
Our Prediction: Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Millwall
Millwall is coming into this game in better form than its hosts, and as a result, they are likely to be optimistic about their prospects of edging them out.
Despite this, we believe that Rovers will be able to bounce back from their most recent loss with a victory in front of their home fans in a game that features two teams that have only played each other to a draw once so far this season.
