Blackburn Rovers have suffered from inconsistency as they sit just one point away from falling out of the play-offs. A poor defeat at home to Bristol City at the weekend will have hindered Rovers’ confidence.  

The visiting Rams are without an away win in 2022, with their last coming on December 30 against Stoke City. Derby County sit 23rd in the table, just five points adrift of safety. 

Team news 

Blackburn Rovers 

Ryan NyambeBen Brereton Diaz, Ian Poveda and Tayo Edun are all unavailable for Tuesday’s clash due to injury. 

Bradley Dack made his return from injury in the game against Bristol City. Dack played the last 20 minutes and missed a penalty to mark an unfortunate return. 

Derby County 

Derby have not been as injury ridden as the hosts, although Kamil Jozwiak recently moved Charlotte FC in the MLS.

Predicted lineups 

Blackburn Rovers (3-5-2) 

Kaminski, Wharton, van Hecke, Lenihan, Pickering, Rothwell, Travis, Rankin-Costello, Khadra, Buckley, Gallagher

Derby County (4-5-1) 

Allsop, Byrne, Davies, Cashin, Buchanan, Bielik, Bird, Ebosele, Morrison, Lawrence, Kazim-Richards 

Form guide 

Blackburn Rovers - LWLDL 

The Rovers hit a rough patch during February, winning one game in the entire month. Tony Mowbray’s men have won just one of their last nine, which has saw hopes of automatic promotion decline.  

Their last match was a 1-0 defeat to Bristol City, where a 92nd minute winning goal from Andreas Weimann stole the three points. Blackburn were left to question themselves after Bradley Dack’s missed penalty in the 83rd minute cost them dearly.  

Derby County - LLLWL 

With just one win in five, survival hopes are slowly slipping away from Wayne Rooney and his men. Derby will look to inspire their fairy tale ending at Ewood Park on Tuesday.  

Despite losing every away game since the new year, Derby have contested well on the road. Although goals have been hard to come by for the Rams, with no goals in their last three away games.  

Derby took Bournemouth to the wire last Saturday, with the Cherries scoring in additional time of each half.  

Ones to watch 

Reda Khadra 

The German attacker is only 20 years old and is a constant threat for opposition defences. Khadra has four goals to his name this season as well as three assists. His role is to play off the more central striker, something that could cause the Derby back line problems. It is also worth mentioning that Khadra has played for Borussia Dortmund’s academy, which is an academy full of young talent.  

Ravel Morrison 

Having been tipped at a young age to become the next sensation. Ravel Morrison’s career has not lived up to the hype, but no one can doubt his quality. Morrison scored a brace in the 2-0 win over Barnsley with an exceptional chipped effort to score his first league goal for the Rams. Rooney will be hoping that his raw talent is enough to breakdown the Rovers defence.  

Previous meetings 

The last time these two sides met was back in late October where Blackburn won 2-1 courtesy of a Brererton Diaz brace. The travelling side went two goals up within 20 minutes to put the game past Derby County. The hosts’ captain Curtis Davies gave them hope with a goal in the 89th minute but Blackburn were able to see the game out with a minimum of fuss.  

How to watch 

The game will be available on Sky Sports red button at 19:45 GMT. Highlights will be posted on each sides social media the following day.  

 

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