Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers boss Michael O’Neill has a tough job ahead as he looks to steady the ship at a club who have been in freefall in the Championship this term.
Preston North End
- Preston North End have had a similar run of late, winning one, drawing two and losing two of their last five, a run that includes a 1-0 win over Portsmouth and a 2-2 draw with Watford.
- Paul Heckingbottom has brought a level of tactical discipline to the side and his 3-5-2 system allows Preston to control the tempo of games through their wing-backs and compact structure, which will test O’Neill’s pragmatism.
Head-to-Head
- Blackburn Rovers have won two of their last three matches against Preston North End, drawing the other.
- Preston North End sits 7th in the Championship after 32 games with 48 points, while Blackburn Rovers languish in 19th with 35 points from the same number of games.
- The hosts are short-priced at 1.97 with Preston North End available at 3.85, and Blackburn beat PNE 2-1 away just two months ago, giving the home team the edge.
Key Players
- Andri Gudjohnsen has been a bright spark for Rovers with seven goals in 21 games in the Championship.
- Lewis Dobbin has been Preston’s main threat with seven goals in 25 appearances.
Betting Insights
- The Both Teams To Score bet is priced at 1.9 and looks a strong pick given recent meetings and the derby atmosphere.
- Blackburn have scored just 0.94 goals per-game at home this season while conceding 1.38.
- Preston have managed to score and concede the same number of goals on their travels this term, 1.20 per-game.
Prediction
Both sides should be compact and structured, suggesting this will be a solid but unspectacular affair .
