Preston North End vs Blackburn Rovers verdict, predicted score, key stats and suggested bets
Jon Dahl Tomasson manager of Blackburn Rovers arrives - February 2023
Preston North End play host to rivals Blackburn on Saturday early evening with bragging rights and a spot in the Championship play-offs at stake.
Blackburn and Preston are separated by just two points and five places, such is the tightness of the Championship table going into the final games of the season.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Championship, Saturday, April 22, Kick-off 5:30pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event
Predicted score
Suggested bets
Over 2.5 goals
Both teams to score
Blackburn Rovers win or draw
Key stats
The away side is unbeaten in five of the last six meetings between the sides, winning four of those matches.
Both sides have scored in 10 of their last 13 meetings, with those games averaging 3.46 goals.
Both teams have scored at least once in seven of Blackburn's last nine away matches.
Preston North End have failed to win 14 of their 21 Championship matches at home.
Team news
Alan Browne (MCL), Ched Evans (illness), Greg Cunningham (knee) and Emil Riis Jakobsen (ACL) are all unavailable for Preston North End. Tom Cannon is expected to start in attack without top scorer Evans.
Jack Vale (ankle), Clinton Mola (ankle), Daniel Ayala (hamstring) and Bradley Dack (hamstring) are all unavailable for Blackburn, who seem to have come through Wednesday's 1-1 draw against Coventry unscathed.
Verdict
Not only could this game have huge implications for the Championship play-offs, but there are also local bragging rights on the line, with just a 20-minute drive down the M65 separating the two.
While Blackpool and Burnley may be seen as the respective sides' biggest rivals, this is a fixture that has taken on more meaning in recent years, with younger generations growing up with Burnley in the Premier League and Blackpool in League One.
Blackburn Rovers occupy the sixth and final play-off spot with 64 points. As the only side in the current top 10 with a negative goal difference, the pressure is on Rovers to keep winning.
Preston North End find themselves in 11th place in the league, with an even worse goal difference of -8, but victory here would be enough to lift them above their local rivals.
This fixture has lit a fire under these teams over the years as they have churned out classic after classic that has usually been dominated by the away side.
The visiting side has won four of the last five meetings, each recording a 4-1 victory in 2022. Before that, Blackburn's 1-0 home win in 2021 followed a 2-1 away win for North End and a 3-0 away win for Rovers.
In the here and now, Jon Dahl Tomasson's side have produced a mixed bag of performances and results over recent weeks. Rovers put in arguably their performance of the season against Huddersfield, but could only draw 2-2 on Easter Monday and have followed this up with two further draws.
North End have been harder to beat since February, although they have struggled away from home. Their form at Deepdale has seen them win four and draw two of their previous six, accounting for 14 of the 27 points they have earned at home this season.
The form book seems to go out the window in this fixture, but if the atmosphere can drag the visitors into playing a high-intensity game, then we should see something in keeping with Preston's recent outings.
The Lilywhites' defence has shipped 13 goals in their last seven matches, but equally, they have found the net 11 times. They have allowed 14 of 21 visiting teams to score at least once this season.
Blackburn's performances away from Ewood Park have been a far cry from the routine 1-0 and 2-0 victories we have become accustomed to seeing. Rovers have conceded in all but four of their away games, allowing eight sides to score more than once.
