Football – England – Championship
Saturday 13th September 2014 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Next up is a Lancashire derby between hosts Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic at Ewood Park as the Championship resumes after the international break.
Blackburn Rovers will be keen to return to winning form after their 1-3 loss away at Wolves prior to the break, and despite making a below-par start away from home this season with just one win under their belts on the road, Blackburn’s home form has been very solid indeed.
Rovers opened their account this season with a point against Cardiff City in a 1-1 draw, but The Bluebirds are expected to feature heavily in the play-offs or even automatic promotion come May next year as Solsjkaer’s men aim for an immediate return to the Premiership – a good point earned then for Gary Bowyer’s boys.
Blackburn then notched up their first league win on home turf with a 3-2 win over Bournemouth and this win shouldn’t be under-estimated as The Cherries now possess former Coventry City striker Callum Wilson in their ranks.
It should also be noted that Blackburn have now gone eight matches without defeat at home, and have lost just twice in their last thirteen league matches at Ewood Park.
Wigan Athletic improved their situation in the Championship by signing off before the break with back-to-back wins over Blackpool and Birmingham City, 1-0 and 4-0 respectively. These were welcome wins for The Latics who had previously slumped to three straight defeats overall with defeats against Burton Albion in the Capital One Cup and back-to-back defeats in the Championship to a revived Charlton Athletic and Cardiff City.
Wigan currently occupy a mid-table position but this is thanks to their solid home form at the DW Stadium where they’ve registered two wins and a draw with an overall record of 2-1-0 7/2. However, their form on their travels has been less encouraging with the straight defeats at Charlton and Cardiff, giving them a record of 0-0-2 1/3 going into today’s match.
With Blackburn’s good home record I’m confident they can avoid defeat, but being a local derby, I’m steering away from the straight win for the hosts in this one. That said, Rovers might nick this one perhaps 2-1 with Jordan Rhodes appearing on the scoresheet.
Pick: Blackburn Rovers AH0 @ 1.88 bet365
