Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City go head-to-head in the Championship on Saturday. Both sides will be searching for a first league win after contrasting opening-day results.
Blackburn Rovers vs Birmingham City – Match preview and team news
Team News
Blackburn Rovers
With six new arrivals, including Sidnei Tavares, Lewis Miller, and Axel Henriksson, Valerien Ismael’s team has improved across the summer and raised all aspects of the squad. However, the head coach has three injury issues: Adam Forshaw and Aynsley Pears both suffered muscle injuries during pre-season and are sidelined until late August; Todd Cantwell is also ruled out.
Birmingham City
Hoping to add speed and goals to the attack, Chris Davies has completely revamped his team with nine new signings, including Marvin Ducksch, Demarai Gray, and Kyogo Furuhashi. Following a pre-season calf injury, Ducksch is still unavailable and is unlikely to play until the international break. Among departures are striker Alfie May, veteran defender Grant Hanley, and full-back Ayumu Yokoyama.
Form
Blackburn Rovers: LL
Rovers fell to a 1-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, conceding to Isaac Price’s early strike despite enjoying plenty of possession. Another setback followed in midweek with a Carabao Cup exit to third-tier Bradford.
Birmingham City: LWLWD
The Blues drew 1-1 with Ipswich Town at St Andrews in their season opener. George Hirst cancelled out Jay Stansfield’s opener in injury time for the visitors.
Predicted Lineups
Blackburn Rovers: Toth; Alebiosu, McLoughlin, Hyam, Ribeiro; Taylor, Tronstad; Henriksson, Hedges, De Neve, Ohashi.
Birmingham City: Allsop; Oyasi-Samuel, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Iwata, Paik, Gray, Stanfield, Aderson; Kyogo.
How to watch Blackburn Rovers vs Birmingham City?
The game will not be televised live in the UK.
What time is kick-off?
3pm BST. Saturday, 16th August.
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