Two play-off chasing sides clash in the SkyBet Championship this weekend as Blackburn Rovers host Stoke City at Ewood Park.

The Potters won the reverse fixture when they hosted Blackburn at the bet365 Stadium less than four weeks ago, Nick Powell's early strike helping the home side to a 1-0 victory on that occasion.

Both teams come in to the fixture hoping for a positive reaction after being dumped out of the FA Cup last weekend.

Hosts Blackburn had a tie to forget as they lost against League One Doncaster Rovers at home, whereas Stoke were comfortably beaten at home against Premier League high flyers Leicester City.

Rovers are enduring a stuttering run of form with just two victories from their last eight games, which has seen them slide to 11th in the table and five points adrift of the play-offs.

Visitors Stoke are also struggling for form and are without a win since they beat Blackburn in December. Two draws and one loss means they sit two points shy of sixth placed Watford.

  • Team news

Tony Mowbray will be glad to have playmaker Bradley Dack available for selection again, the midfielder continued his encouraging comeback from injury against Doncaster after scoring a late goal against Birmingham the week before.

Ryan Nyambe and Lewis Holtby are available again after missing the FA Cup defeat, but Rovers are still without injured Elliott Bennett, Scott Wharton and Corry Evans.

Stoke will be without winger James McClean after they announced on Thursday they had suspended the Irish international for breaking coronavirus protocol by training in a private gym.

Veteran striker Steven Fletcher is also expected to miss out through injury after he limped off against Bournemouth.

Michael O'Neill will be boosted by the arrival of three new loan signings however as the pacey trio of Rabbi Matondo, Jack Clarke and Rhys Norrington-Davies are all available for immediate selection.

  • Predicted lineups

Blackburn:

Kaminski, Douglas, Lenihan, Johnson, Bell, Holtby, Travis, Davenport, Elliott, Gallagher, Armstrong.

Stoke:

Bursik, Collins, Souttar, Chester, Norrington-Davies, Cousins, Allen, Powell, Matondo, Vokes, Brown.

  • Ones to watch

Adam Armstrong - Blackburn

The Championship's joint highest scorer with 16 goals this campaign, Adam Armstrong is a dangerous forward with an eye for goal. 

Enjoying a prolific campaign playing alongside strong attacking players like Sam Gallagher, Ben Brereton and Harvey Elliott, the 23-year-old has helped his side become the divisions joint highest scorers.

Rabbi Matondo - Stoke

Joining on loan from German strugglers Schalke, Matondo is a pacey and exciting winger who can play on either flank.

The 20-year-old wide man made his Stoke debut with a 30 minute cameo in the thumping defeat to Leicester and is in contention to make his first start against Rovers.

  • Previous meetings

The last match between the sides took place in mid-December where Nick Powell's seventh minute strike was enough for The Potters to hold on to a 1-0 win.

Both teams have a fairly even record against one another, before the defeat four weeks ago Blackburn had won on their last two visits to the Potteries.

Stoke won at Ewood Park last season in a 1-0 victory thanks to a Peter Etebo goal and are unbeaten in Lancashire since 2015.

  • How to watch

No fans will be in attendance at Ewood Park due to the national lockdown, meaning the only way to see the action is by streaming the match from the clubs online platforms.

Blackburn Rovers use iFollow which can be accessed here.

Stoke City's streaming information can be found here.