Blackburn Rovers play host to Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon looking to record their fifth successive victory in the Championship.
While Rovers currently occupy fourth position in the standings, Blues are down in 15th spot after winning just one of their last six contests.
Match preview
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Like every club in the Championship, Blackburn have endured their periods of inconsistency this season, leaving them spending a spell in the mid-table positions.
However, seven victories from nine outings have transformed Rovers' campaign, moving the club to within six points of leaders Fulham just six weeks after they lost 7-0 to the same opponents.
Goals from Ben Brereton Diaz had initially kept Blackburn in contention for the playoffs, but it has been their defence which has really stood out in recent weeks.
Rovers have recorded four successive clean sheets, and almost seven hours have passed since Bristol City netted during the first half of the 1-1 draw on November 20.
With a favourable schedule in front of them, Tony Mowbray will expect his team to continue their current run, particularly with a struggling Birmingham side making the trip to the North-West.
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Lee Bowyer will take the positives from Blues losing just one of their last four fixtures, but context is required when assessing the 2-2 draw with Cardiff City.
Birmingham held a 2-0 advantage over the Bluebirds before their opponents rallied back to net a last-minute equaliser, costing the West Midlands outfit the chance to move within two points of eighth position.
Instead, Bowyer's team are 15th and one of four teams level on the same points, and there is an acceptance that they need to improve on just five points being collected from six encounters.
Troy Deeney has now netted in successive games, taking his tally to four for the season, but leading marksman Scott Hogan has now not contributed in five appearances.
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Team News
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Blackburn goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski is in line to return from a rib injury, leaving Mowbray with a selection dilemma after the impressive performances of stand-in Aynsley Pears.
Mowbray has also added that Ryan Nyambe, Scott Wharton and Bradley Johnson are also likely to be available for selection.
While there is a chance that Mowbray could stick with the team which impressed at Bournemouth, much will depend on any potential coronavirus-related issues.
Birmingham are boosted by the returns of Gary Gardner and Ryan Woods, both of whom have been serving suspensions.
One of the pair will be preferred to Jordan James in the middle of the pitch, and that may prove to be the only change with Maxime Colin still struggling for fitness.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Lenihan, Van Hecke, Wharton; Nyambe, Rothwell, Travis, Pickering; Buckley; Brereton Diaz, Khadra
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Sanderson, Roberts, Friend; Graham, Gardner, Sunjic, Pedersen; McGree; Hogan, Deeney
We say: Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Birmingham City
Aside from Fulham, Blackburn would be regarded as favourites to beat any other team in the second tier right now, particularly at Ewood Park. With that in mind, we expect a comfortable afternoon for Rovers, who could also keep a clean sheet.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Blackburn Rovers win with a probability of 48.24%. A draw had a probability of 26.5% and a win for Birmingham City had a probability of 25.21%.
The most likely scoreline for a Blackburn Rovers win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.36%) and 2-1 (9.07%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.5%), while for a Birmingham City win it was 0-1 (8.62%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 1.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Blackburn Rovers would win this match.
