Currently sitting in the bottom three of the Championship, Blackburn can use the next three games as a springboard to rise up the table.
It has been a difficult start to the Championship for Blackburn Rovers. They have won only two games this season and pressure is rising on manager Owen Coyle to get things moving in the right direction.
Their next three games present themselves as a good opportunity to get some much-needed points on the board and clear some of the doom and gloom presently around the club.
Birmingham City (a) – Saturday 1st October
Despite the respective form of both teams this season, Blackburn have a impressive recent record against Birmingham, having lost only once in their last eight fixtures.
The last time they met was in March at Ewood Park when Rovers scored two first-half goals to run out as victors, while their last clash at St. Andrew’s resulted in a 0-0 draw. Birmingham have only lost once in the league at home this season, and are unbeaten in their last six games in the league so this is a stern test for Rovers.
Opposition player to watch – Lukas Jutkiewicz
The striker on loan from Burnley went over two years without a goal, but has scored two in his last three games and has led the line well in the absence through injury of top scorer Clayton Donaldson.
Score prediction: Birmingham 2-1 Blackburn
Ipswich Town (h) – Saturday 15th October
You have to go all the way back to 1991 for the last time Ipswich had a league win at Ewood Park, nine games overall. The last time they clashed was in October 2015 when Jordan Rhodes scored a first-half double.
Ipswich have only won once away from home in 2016-17 (a 1-0 win vs Derby) and a main reason for their lack of success is their paltry return of two goals in five games.
Blackburn have only won once at home this season, but these are the games from which Rovers have to claim maximum points if they are going to climb the table.
Opposition player to watch – Grant Ward
The former Tottenham youth player has been in impressive form for Ipswich. The winger has scored four goals in the league in 2016-17 which included a second half hat-trick against Barnsley in the opening game of the season.
Score prediction: Blackburn 1 – 0 Ipswich
Nottingham Forest (h) – Tuesday 18th October
Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last three fixtures at Ewood Park, with one win and two draws. Blackburn’s last win in this fixture came in October 2014 where they scored three goals in 11 second half minutes to record a 3-1 win.
Forest are yet to win away from home this season, picking up two draws against Aston Villa and Rotherham. This is another fixture in which Blackburn should feel confident of getting at least one point on the board.
Opposition player to watch – Nicklas Bendtner
You never know what sort of performance you are going to get from the enigmatic Dane. His best is high-class, but when he is poor he is really poor. However, Bendtner opened his account for Forest on Tuesday night against Fulham and will be full of confidence.
Score prediction: Blackburn 1-1 Forest
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