Blackburn Rovers v Leeds United preview: Team news, head-to-head, prediction
Leeds United are straight back into Championship action on Saturday as they travel to face Blackburn Rovers.
The Whites continued their remarkable resurgence in the second tier with a comprehensive 3-0 win against Luton Town on Wednesday [27 November] and will be hoping for more of the same at Ewood Park three days later.
Preview
Sam Byram gave his side a “dream” start at Elland Road as he opened the scoring and his account for the season in one of the most one-sided Championship contests of the campaign thus far.
Daniel Farke has now won six of his last 10 league outings; the Whites are finally living up to the pre-season hype and sit firmly atop the Championship table, level on points with Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United.
Everything is clicking for Leeds at the moment – Farke is proving himself as a tactical genius, benching Wilfried Gnonto and Dan James in the past two fixtures for the pair to be introduced in the latter stages and providing decisive goals.
However, Blackburn are rediscovering their form, with victories against Cardiff City and Middlesbrough taking the Lancashire outfit to ninth place, only two points adrift of the play-off spots.
John Eustace will fancy his side to use their new-found momentum, plus home advantage, to gain an edge over Leeds, but they will face a long afternoon trying to thwart one of the most in-form sides in the division.
Form Guide [Championship]
Blackburn Rovers: WWLLL
Leeds United: WWWLW
Head-to-Head [all competitions]
Leeds United 0-1 Blackburn Rovers [13 April, 2024]
Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Leeds United [9 December, 2023]
Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Leeds United [28 July, 2021]
Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Leeds United [4 July, 2020]
Leeds United 2-1 Blackburn Rovers [9 November, 2019]
Team News
Leeds will, of course, still be without injured duo Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev for the clash on Saturday as the pair continue their rehabilitation at Elland Road.
However, Farke will be boosted by the availability of Junior Firpo as he returns from an FA three-match suspension for headbutting Danny McNamara in the 1-0 loss against Millwall, but he may well find himself in the dugout due to Byram’s stellar form.
However, Byram is himself a fitness doubt for the clash at Ewood Park and will undergo a late fitness test.
Eustace is missing several first-team absentees at Blackburn, meanwhile, with Scott Wharton, Hayden Carter, Arnor Sigurdsson, Andreas Weimann, Balazs Toth and Zak Gilsenan on the sidelines.
Predicted lineups
Blackburn Rovers: Pears, Brittain, Batth, Hyam, Pickering, Travis, Tronstad, Dolan, Cantwell, Hedges, Ohashi
Leeds United: Meslier, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Byram, Tanaka, Rothwell, Gnonto, Aaronson, James, Piroe
Where to watch?
The match at Ewood Park kicks off at 1:30pm GMT on 30 November and will be unavailable for live television coverage in the UK.
Alternatively, supporters can also listen to commentary on BBC Radio Leeds.
Prediction: Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Leeds United
The Whites are playing out of their skin in the Championship, and it feels like no other side is a match for them based on their current form.
With James, Gnonto, Manor Solomon and Largie Ramazani to choose from on the flanks, and Joel Piroe and Mateo Joseph vying to lead the line, there are goals everywhere you look at Elland Road.
Blackburn are facing Leeds at the wrong time after picking up six points in their last two outings, and with so many first-team regulars missing through injury, it is looking like a monumental task to keep the winning streak alive on Saturday.
In other Leeds United news, Rob Edwards’ angry reaction to a Whites ace in the win against Luton has been explained.
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